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| VOL. 18 | AUGUST, 1927 | NO. 5 |
| Page | |
Immortality—A Compilation from Teachings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá | 133 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 131 |
Bahá’í Scientific Proofs of Life after Death, Martha L. Root | 136 |
The Vision of the Prophets, Dr. Walter B. Guy | 142 |
Souvenir Feast of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, Keith Ransom-Kehler | 147 |
Flying in Material and Spiritual Atmospheres, Florence Evelyn Schopflocher | 150 |
Creation as it Appears Today, Dr. Orrol L. Harper | 155 |
Amity at Green Acre, Louis G. Gregory | 158 |
of Mi'rza Ahmad Sohrab and Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi: preserved, fostered and by them turned over to the National Spiritual Assembly, with all
valuable assets, as a gift of love to the Cause of God.STANWOOD COBB | Editor |
MARIAM HANEY | Associate Editor |
ALLEN B. MCDANIEL | Business Manager |
Subscriptions: $3.00 per year; 25 cents a copy. Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year. Please send change of address by the middle of the month and be sure to send OLD as well as NEW address. Kindly send all communications and make postoffice orders and checks payable to Baha'i News Service, 706 Otis Building, Washington, D. C., U. S. A. Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the postoffice at Washington, D. C., under the Act of March 3, 1897. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103 Act of October 3, 1917, authorized September 1, 1922.
--PHOTO--
Mrs. Florence Evelyn Schopflocher who has had many spiritual adventures while traveling in the Far East as a Bahá’í teacher. (See page 150).
| VOL. 18 | AUGUST, 1927 | No. 5 |
fadeth, and set not your affections on this mortal world of dust.”
Bahá’u’lláh.WE OF THE occident are very apt to become too preoccupied with the material needs and pleasures of life. It is not easy, in the midst of that vivid material environment called civilization that impinges daily upon us, to realize and sense another kind of existence—that of the spirit.
It is this existence and life of the spirit which constitutes immortality. Some very spiritual people (and all are urged to do so by the Manifestations of religion) partake of this immortal life while on earth, their spirit having attained such a development as to enable them to function on the plane of immortality while still incorporated in an earthly body.
SAD TRUTH it is that, on the other hand, many individuals leave this body at death with the spirit so feebly developed that it cannot function on the immortal planes; remaining, as ’Abdu’l-Bahá tells us, as crippled as a child is in this world when born deaf, dumb, and blind from its mother’s womb. For this world is the matrix in which the faculties of the spirit are to form. If they do not properly form here, the spirit cannot properly function hereafter.
Even more terrible in the other world is the condition of those whose spirits in this life have remained dead, like those of whom Christ said, “Let the dead bury the dead.” Such souls, totally engrossed while in this life in material things and in selfish, cruel practices must necessarily at dissolution of the body be in the same spiritual state of death over there that they have been in here. For death is a transition, a passage only, and not a spiritualizing process. Therefore, as ’Abdu’l-Bahá teaches, such souls appear in the world of immortality as if devoid of life, having no relatively higher form of existence there than the stone has here.
IT IS WELL to face these potent, astounding truths at times. The desire for a spiritually advanced life in the next world is one of the most potent motives for righteous conduct in this world—indeed, the only sound and fundamental motive for conduct.
For it is clear to one who meditates on spiritual things that the chief reward for righteous conduct is to become more righteous, while the greatest and most tragic punishment of evil-doing is to grow more evil.
THE REWARDS and punishments in this earthly life are not always apparently so expressive of sure and certain justice, being extraneous to the self. How often it seems that the unrighteous—that is, the selfish, the aggressive, the exploiting type–unduly prosper; and, on the contrary, that the righteous are often deprived of this world’s goods in proportion to their unselfishness.
Therefore it is apparent that there
is not in the brief span of this life sufficient certainty of justice to act as deterrent to selfish and cruel behavior, or as incentive for kindly and self-sacrificing acts. It is the results of this life or existence in the other world which are so weighty when put in the balance. All Revealers of religion have emphasized the importance of facing the results of our actions here in the continued life of hereafter. Their system of ethics has been based upon these more spiritual and everlasting rewards.
WHILE THE events of this life seem to be much the result of chance, to the spiritual vision it is evident and clear that just as exact and terrifying a process of justice is at work here as on the plane of immortality. Individuals attract to themselves the kind of life which is adapted to their state of spiritual development. If we have achieved an inner harmony, we find life harmonious about us; if we have discovered the secret of joy, life becomes joyous; if we know the Source of Power and how to approach It in prayer, power becomes available to us to meet the needs and emergencies of life. Thus as we progress spiritually our life even on this earthly plane becomes more heavenly.
And as groups of people, having achieved such spiritual progress, join together and work or pray in harmony and love, lo! the Kingdom of Heaven becomes manifested in their midst.
ONE OF THE MOST significant teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is toward this end of sublimating life until it becomes both as regards individuals and as regards all humanity, heavenly, immortal in degree and in expression,—the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
We do not need, therefore, to await death in order to taste immortality. On the plane of the spirit we can rest and perceive such inner and marvelous realities of things that we are in fact partaking of two lives, the one merging and coalescing into the other.
The Kingdom of Heaven is not therefore a postponement of perfection till we pass through Death; it is a condition—a degree of spiritual perfection which can be achieved here. May such achievement be the conscious goal of every enlightened individual, and ultimately of humanity itself!
purity to which it has evolved during life in the physical body, and after it is freed from the body it remains immersed in the ocean of God’s Mercy.
“In the world of spirit there is no retrogression. The world of mortality is a world of contradictions, of opposities; motion being compulsory everything must either go forward or backward. In the realm of spirit there is no retreat possible; all movement is bound to be toward a perfect state. ‘Progress’ is the expression of spirit in the world of matter.”
In the revealed writings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá there are o be found almost limitless teachings on the subject of “Life After Death.” We have attempted to select only a few for the purpose of this compilation.—Editor.
THE DAYS of human existence are like vanishing shadows. Compared to the world of Reality they are brought to a close with extraordinary rapidity. From amongst the world of humanity those who lead a heedless life are afflicted with manifest loss, for when the days of their lives 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 the king to the servant all walk in this fleeting path and live in this circle * * *.—(B. S., p. 449)
THE WHOLE PHYSICAL creation is perishable. These material bodies are composed of atoms. When these atoms begin to separate, decomposition sets in, then comes what we call death. This Composition of atoms which constitutes the body or mortal element of any created being is temporary. When the power of attraction which holds these atoms together is withdrawn, the body, as such, ceases to exist.
With the soul it is different. The soul is not a combination of elements. It is not composed of many atoms. It is of one indivisable substance and is therefore eternal. It is entirely out of the order of the physical creation. It is immortal. Scientific philosophy has demonstrated that a simple element (“simple” meaning not “composed”) is indestructible, eternal. The soul not being a composition of elements is in its nature a simple element, and therefore cannot cease to exist. The soul being of that one indivisible substance can suffer neither disintegration nor destruction, therefore there is no reason for its coming to an end.—(Wisdom Talks in Paris, p. 82.)
KNOW WITH TRUE certainty that man was not created for the life of this world as it is mortal and there is no certainty therein. Is it possible that this great creation and glorious being should terminate in mortality? Is it meet that the result of God’s great creation which is unlimited—that is, man—should live in this world a certain number of days with many difficulties, troubles, without repose and rest, and then die and end in mortality? No; verily, by truth, this is not meet! Nay, rather, this glorious being and grand creation was made for the eternal life, spiritual happiness, revelations of the heart, divine inspiration, heavenly perfections and virtues of the kingdom.—(Tablet to the Bahá’ís in Ithaca, N. Y.)
GOD IN HIS wisdom has created all things. Nothing has been created without a special destiny, for every creature has an innate station of attainment * * *
What becomes of the soul after its separation from the body? The question concerns that which has a place and that which is placeless. The human body is in space; the soul has no place in space. Space is a quality of material things and that which is not material does not partake of space. The soul, like the intellect, is an abstraction. Intelligence does not partake of the quality of space, though it is related to man’s brain. The intellect resides there, but not materially. Search in the brain you Will not find the intellect. In the same way, though the soul is a resident
of the body, it is not to be found in the body.
When man dies his relation with the body ceases. The sun is reflected in the mirror; the mirror reflects the light and brilliancy of the sun, but the sun does not reside in the mirror. It does not enter nor come out of the mirror, nevertheless one sees it in the mirror; so the soul reflects itself in the body. If the mirror be broken the sun does not die. The body is the temporary mirror; the spiritual soul suffers no change, no more than the sun does, remaining eternally in its own station. Even as in the world of dreams when all the physical faculties are in abeyance and the soul travels in all realms seeing, hearing, speaking, so when the physical body decomposes, the soul is not affected. —(Divine Philosophy, p. 127.)
THOU HAST asked concerning the spirits of men. They are not at all annihilated; they are immortal. The spirits of heavenly souls will find eternal life—that is, they will attain the highest and most great stations of perfection. But the spirits of the heedless souls, although they are eternal, yet they are in a world of imperfection, concealment and ignorance. This is a concise answer. Contemplate and meditate upon it in order that thou mayst comprehend the reality of the mysteries in detail. For instance, no matter how much the mineral has an existence and life yet in comparison to man it is entirely non-existent and deprived of life. For when man is carried from life to death, his comparative station—if he be of the heedless—will be that of a mineral existence.—(Tablets of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, Vol. 3, p. 550.)
IT IS APPARENT that the soul has its individuality even as the body has its own. But if the body undergoes a change, the spirit need not be touched. When you break a glass on which the sun shines, the glass is broken, but the sun still shines. If a cage containing a bird is destroyed, the bird is unharmed. If a lamp is broken, the flame can still burn. The same thing applies to the spirit of man. Though death destroys his body it has no power over his spirit, which is eternal, everlasting, both birthless and deathless.—(Wisdom Talks in Paris, p. 59.)
WHEN THE SOULS of the sincere depart, then their unreal vision is changed into a vision of reality. Even as man, when in the age of babyhood and imperfection, though he seeth things, yet is that vision superficial and external. But when he reacheth the age of perfection and becometh endowed with the reasoning faculty and discrimination and comprehension, then that vision of his is a vision of reality and not of unreality.
It is evident that the divine nearness is an unlimited nearness, be it in this world or the next one. This is a nearness which is sanctified from the comprehension of the minds. The more a man seeketh light from the Sun of Truth, the nearer he will draw. For instance, a clear body is near unto the sun, and a black stone is far from the sun. This nearness dependth upon clearness, purity, and perfection, and that remoteness is due to density, dullness, and imperfection.
As to the question whether the souls will recognize each other in the spiritual world, this fact is certain, for the Kingdom is the world of vision (or sight) where all the concealed realities will become disclosed. How much more the well-known souls will become manifest. The mysteries of which man is heedless in this earthly world those will he discover in the heavenly world and there will he be informed of the secrets of truth. How much more will he recognize or discover persons with whom he hath
been associated. Undoubtedly the holy souls who find a pure eye and are favored with insight will in the kingdom of lights be acquainted with all mysteries and will seek the bounty of witnessing the reality of every great soul. They will even behold the Beauty of God made manifest and those of the former and recent times present in the heavenly assemblage. —(Tablets of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, Vol. 1, p. 204.)
BUT REGARDING the progress of the spirit in the world of the Kingdom after its ascension, it is wholly beyond space and time, and developments after leaving this body are spiritual and not terrestrial. It is like unto the progress of the child from the world of the foetus to the world of maturity and intelligence, from the world of ignorance to the world of knowledge, from the station of imperfection to the pinnacle of perfection. As divine perfections are infinite, therefore the progress of the spirit is limitless.—(Daily Lessons, p. 89.)
THOSE WHO HAVE passed on through death have a sphere of their own. It is not removed from ours; their work, the work of the Kingdom, is ours. But it is sanctified from what we call “time and place.” Time with us is measured by the sun. When there is no more sunrise and no more sunset that kind of time does not exist for man. Those who have ascended have different attributes from those who are still on earth, yet there is no real separation.—(Wisdom Talks in London, p. 27.)
THE SPIRITS of the sons of the Kingdom, after the disintegration of this body ascend to the world of eternal existence; but should you ask the place, know thou that that world of existence is the world of unity, but the grades are different. For instance, the mineral existence has a grade, but the mineral has no knowledge of the vegetable kingdom. It—the mineral existence-has no information of a higher realm; nay, rather, according to appearances it may deny the higher grade. Likewise, vegetable life has no knowledge of the animal kingdom. It is entirely heedless and unconscious of that kingdom, because the grade of the animal is higher than that of the vegetable. The vegetable, owing to its limited environment, is veiled from knowledge of the animal kingdom and may deny it, although the animal, the vegetable and the mineral live in the world of existence. Likewise the animal cannot comprehend man’s faculties of intelligence which generalize. concerning the universal and discover the mysteries of being, so that while living in the East he organizes and founds institutions in the West, and he reveals hidden things. Though he abides in Europe he discovers America; though he dwells upon the earth he unravels the realities of the solar system. The animal is entirely unconscious of, nay, rather, is a denier of this intelligent force which penetrates into the unknown and comprehends the general as well as the particular ideas of this illimitable universe.
Likewise the people of the world lack knowledge of the world of the Kingdom; nay, rather, they deny it.
The center of the Sun of Truth and of the supreme world is the Divine Kingdom. Those souls who are purified and sanctified, after the disintegration of this elemental tabernacle, hasten to the Divine Realm, and that realm is in this universe, but the people of this world have no knowledge of it, just as the mineral and vegetable kingdoms have no knowledge of the animal and human kingdoms.—(Star of the West, Vol. 14, p. 36.)
The following is the address of Miss Martha L. Root at the second Bahd’i session of the Nineteenth Universal Congress of Esperanto, August first, in Danzig, Europe.
“O Son of the Supreme! Death have I ordained even as glad-tidings for thee; wherefore dost thou sorrow? Light have I made to illumine thee, why veil thyself from it?” (From the “Hidden Words” of Bahá’u’lláh.)
THERE is not a question of this twentieth century which interests people more, perhaps, than the scientific proofs of life after death. It is a great privilege, therefore, to present some of the scientific proofs of immortality from the Bahá’í teachings.
Baha’u’llah teaches that the physical body, just as science tells us, is composed of atoms which through attraction cohere, and thus the body is formed. But later these atoms disintegrate and we have what is called destruction or death; but that the spirit within the body is entirely different. It is not composed of atoms which cohere and disintegrate; the spirit is composed of one element, one substance, therefore it can never disintegrate. The spirit is an effulgence which shines upon the body as the sun shines upon the mirror. One can never point to any part of his body and say, “The spirit is located here.” The spirit, in its very essence is immortal, and when the spirit within us is once awakened—and this constitutes what is called in the Bible “being born again”—we become immortal here and now; and when we pass on, this awakened spirit goes with full consciousness into the higher kingdom. It puts off the body as one would a garment, and it will function more powerfully without the limitations of the body. ’Abdu’l-Bahá teaches that when the spirit enters the kingdom of light it puts on a spiritual body—a celestial body—which will never change, and the spirit continues its progression in the higher realms.
’Abdu’l-Bahá also teaches that there are many Worlds of God. Everything in the physical world has its counterpart in the spiritual world. For example, the scientists say that there are three hundred million worlds quite as large as this little earth. If there are three hundred million physical worlds then there are also many spiritual worlds, even as Christ indicated when he taught, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” ’Abdu’l-Bahá said that the spirit, when it enters into the next kingdom, will come into the presence of Christ and Bahá’u’lláh and Buddha and Moses and all of the Prophets and all its loved ones, and it will speak to them of its spiritual journey through this earth plane.
The whole purpose of being born into this world is not material happiness or these exterior conditions, which we think are so important, but the most scientific truth one can learn is that the real purpose of life here is that the spirit, potential in each soul, may become awakened and evolve the qualities which it will use in the higher kingdom. The child born into the human kingdom comes
potentially prepared with eyes and ears and other senses which it has developed ready to use; in the same way we spiritually are in the womb life of the life eternal and the most scientific knowledge we can ever acquire is to learn how to take on divine qualities, for all that the awakened spirit can carry with it into this higher kingdom are these God-like qualities which it has evolved here. So many times people think of science as referring only to material objects; but divine science, which teaches the reality of the spirit, is as truly scientific as the discovery of electricity and radio.
This reality of the spirit is brought home clearly in a few trenchant sentences which ’Abdu’l-Bahá spoke in one of His addresses in America when He visited that country in 1912. “Change and transformation are peculiarities of composition. There is no change and transformation in the spirit. In proof of this the body may become weakened in its members. It may be dismembered or one of its members may be incapacitated * * * Dismember a healthy man, the spirit is not dismembered. Amputate his feet, his spirit is there. He may become lame, the spirit is not affected. The spirit is ever the same; no change or transformation can you perceive, and because there is not change or transformation it is ever-lasting and permanent.”
’Abdu’l-Bahá also takes the often vivid experiences of a being in sleep, when the body is inert and powerless, and it might be said to all intents and purposes non-existent, as another and perhaps even stronger illustration of the persistence and independence of the human spirit. He says: “Consider man while in the state of sleep; it is evident that all his parts and members are at a standstill, are functionless. His eye does not see, his ear does not hear, his feet and hands are motionless, but nevertheless he does see in the world of dreams, he does hear, he speaks, he walks, he may even fly in an aeroplane. Therefore, it becomes evident that though the body be dead, yet the spirit is alive and permanent. Nay, the perceptions may be keener when man’s body is asleep, the flight may be higher, the hearing may be more acute; all the functions are there and yet the body is at a standstill. Hence it is proof that there is a spirit in the man, and in this spirit there is no distinction as to whether the body be asleep or absolutely dead and dependent. The spirit is not incapacitated by these conditions; it is not bereft of its perfections.”
Some might say: “I cannot believe in the spirit because I cannot see it, I cannot feel it, I cannot know it with my five senses.” But ’Abdu’-Bahá tells us, “If the spirit of man belonged to the elemental existence the eye could see it, the ear hear it, the hand touch it. As long as these five senses cannot perceive it, the proof is unquestioned that it does not belong to the elemental world and therefore is beyond death or mortality which are inseparable from that material realm of existence.”
One fact which material scientists may not agree with, but which the Bahá’í teachings absolutely prove, is that “the body does not conduct the processes of intellection or thought radiation,” and that the power of reason is not shared with the animal but is peculiar to the human spirit. I quote the words of ’Abdu’l-Bahá: “The body does not conduct the processes
of intellection or thought radiation. It is only the medium of the grossest sensations. This human body is purely animal in type, and like the animal, is subject only to the grosser sensibilities. It is utterly bereft of ideation or intellection, utterly incapable of the processes of reason. The animal perceives according to its animal senses. It comprehends not beyond its sense perceptions; * * * but we know that in the human organism there is a center of intellection, a power of intellectual operation which is the discoverer of the realities of things. This power can unravel the mysteries of phenomena. It can comprehend that which is knowable, not alone the sensible; All the inventions are its products, for all these have been the mysteries of nature * * * all the sciences which we now utilize are the products of that wondrous reality. But the animal is deprived of its operations. The arts we now enjoy are the expressions of this marvelous reality. The animal is bereft of them because these conscious realities are peculiar to the human spirit.
“These evidences prove that man is possessed of two realities, a reality connected with the senses and which is shared in common with the animal, and another reality which is conscious and ideal in character. This latter is the collective reality and the discoverer of mysteries. That which discovers the realities of things undoubtedly is not of the elemental substances. It is distinct from them, for mortality and disintegration are the properties inherent in compositions and are referable to things which are subject to sense perceptions, but the collective reality in man, not being so subject, is the discoverer of things. Therefore it is real, eternal, and does not have to undergo change and transformation.”
This proves that the physical brain is not the discoverer, but is only the instrument of the human spirit and that the spirit can carry on its processes of thinking and is not annihilated by the disintegration of the physical body. It will prove also that the highest science which one can attain is to learn how to awaken this human spirit and to teach it to use the power of the Holy Spirit; thus the spirit gradually takes on divine qualities. It develops a brilliant spiritual intuition and it catches glimpses of cosmic consciousness. When the spirit, through prayer, meditation and service, is turned toward the infinite essence of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit the mysteries of God shine upon the spirit of the individual as upon a photographic plate. It is then that genius is born, that the highest arts and sciences come into being and the brain is only the instrument like the camera.
In all the different kingdoms preparation is made for a kingdom still higher; for example, in the mineral kingdom the mineral prepares itself by disintegration, so that the vegetable may reach down and take it up into this higher kingdom. The vegetable prepares itself by growth and augmentation so that the animal may take it up. The Bahá’í Teachings accept completely the evolutionary principle, including the development of the human race through the lower forms of life, but insist that inherently man was man from the beginning of things and that his evolution, now at an end so far as bodily forms are concerned, is to be continued indefinitely, nay, eternally, through the development of his spirit.
The Bahá’ís believe that evolution was not purposeless. Of what profit to evolve such a being as man, with powers and perceptions, as I think has been clearly shown, so far above the animal, and then let the process suddenly stop and leave the work unfinished? No. Evolution will still continue, but it will be the evolution of the spirit. The process begins with man on this earthly plane of existence, and with his spirit soaring above the limitations of earth after it has been freed from the encumbrance of the body, will continue to undreamed of perfections in the life hereafter.
Convinced as we are of this, we feel that the most important things of today, looked at even from the evolutionary, scientific standpoint, are not the things material, necessary and imperative as it is to develop them to the utmost as the strivings for human comfort and advancement persist. What is really essential is the development of the thing that will last, not the evanescently material, but the permanently spiritual. And it is important that we realize that fact while we are still active and energetic here, and that we strive to fit ourselves as best we possibly can for the swifter advancement that we feel lies within our grasp in the continuation of our perceptive life on another plane.
In conclusion a few more of the illuminating teachings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá are quoted which will help us understand this most important subject of “Life After Death”—the evolution of the material side of man, his most important work here and now, and how he can best prepare himself for the greater evolution that is to come when he advances beyond the material bounds and his reality wings its way into the realm of the eternal:
“Man in the world of existence has traversed certain degrees until he has arrived at the world of manhood. In every degree he has attained the capacity for advancement to the next degree. While in the mineral kingdom he was attaining the capacity for promotion into the vegetable kingdom. In the vegetable kingdom he has received preparation and capacity for the animal kingdom. He has come from the vegetable kingdom to the animal and then on to the human kingdom.”
“In the beginning of his life man was in the matrix world. In the world of the matrix he obtained capacity and preparation for this world. The forces and powers necessary for this world he attained there. In this world he needed eyes; he received them potentially in the other. He needed ears; therefore he obtained them in the world of the matrix. All the powers he needed in this world he attained potentially in the world of the matrix. In the world of the matrix therefore he was prepared for this world; so that when he came to this forces were ready—all his needs for material sustenance were provided.”
“Therefore in this world also he must prepare himself and get ready for the life hereafter. That of which he is in need in the world of the Kingdom he must obtain here. Just as he prepared himself by acquiring the forces necessary in this world in the world of the matrix, so likewise it is necessary that all needful in the Kingdom, all the forces of the Kingdom—must be acquired in this world.
“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 must they 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 utmost state of sanctity and holiness, surely he shall attain the second birth, will be baptized through the Holy Spirit and witness the life eternal.”
in the Kingdom of God. This means that just as in the first birth the foetus comes forth from the matrix of the mother into the conditions of the human kingdom, even so the spirit of man must be born out of the matrix of naturalism, out of the baser nature in order that he may comprehend the great things of the Kingdom of God. He must be born out of mother earth to find the life everlasting. And this collective reality or spirit of man, being born out of the world of nature, possessing the attributes of God, will continue to live forever in the eternal realm.”
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 mysteries 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. Where the heavenly powers in man to become predominant, man would become the most superior being in the world of existence.
“The same merciful God who bestowed His favors in the past has opened the doors of His kingdom to us. The rays of His sun are shining, the breath of the Holy Spirit is quickening. The omniscient God still assists and confirms us, illumines our hearts, gladdens our souls.”—’Abdu’l-Bahá.
PROPHETS and seers of a11 ages, all religions, nations and climes, have told in tongues of flame of the Great Day that in the fullness of time should come upon the earth.
That day when sorrow and pain, disease and death, poverty and despair should be unknown, but joy and singing, contentment and peace should be enthroned throughout the world.
One is amazed at the number and various sources of these predictions. We find them stated in ancient religions and in modern cults; in stately tones of joyous assurance, in sublime poetry, in religious ecstasies or in the calm visions of our present-day scientists—all declare the wonder and love of God, the coming of freedom, peace and righteousness.
The Orient joins hands with the Occident. Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Hindoos, Muhammadans, of the East; Christians, Latter Day Saints, Philanthropists, Theosophists of the West, all await this Day of God.
The Hebrew prophet Isaiah who taught in Palestine (the land of strife and turmoil, the gate of the East, the North and the South) over twenty-six years ago, gave utterance to this prediction in most melodious and poetical tones.
In the 35th chapter of his book he describes the past and the future. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice. and blossom as the rose. The parched ground shall become a pool and thirsty land springs of water.” And still more definitely he declares that a new way to God, to true happiness and contentment shall appear, “and a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the way-faring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” And still more wonderful, this ancient seer describes the place where this highway to righteousness shall appear and become manifest, and even the title of that Great One who would create and usher into the world this Great Day. “* * * the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” And still another prophet of Israel gives us this word: “And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope * * *.” (Hosea 2:15.)
To the seeker after truth, these visions of the seers of long ago, and their prophecies are intensely interesting, especially so in these modern times. We now can see that literally, historically and from a religious viewpoint, these predictions have been actually fulfilled in every particular.
The story of the journey of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh with His family and followers from Turkey to the penal colony of ’Akká, their sufferings, privations and long imprisonment, their enforced seclusion behind prison bars, and the triumphant
bursting of these limitations and barriers to a universal world platform and religion—is a miraculous demonstration of the Supreme Power.
The Bahá’í Cause is a drawing together of the children of God. Visitors and pilgrims returning from the town of Haifa, Palestine, tell of this stupendous truth. How, day by day, pilgrims from the North and the South, the East and the West come in ever-increasing numbers. They come with shining eyes and eager faces, with songs on their lips and joy in their hearts. One sees them gather from all countries of the Orient; there are Persians, Arabs, Chinese, Hindoos, Singhalese, etc., Kurds, Egyptians, Berbers, Negroes from Africa; and from the Occident—Americans, English, French and Germans, Turks and Italians and many other peoples.
In Haifa, these pilgrims gather to pray at the shrines of the three wonderful Prophets. They climb the Mount of Carmel, the Mountain of God, and wander through the narrow and intricate ways of ’Akká to view the Most Great Prison, to see those bars of iron which could not keep in the great message of God to man. They see too, flowers in the Sharon Valley where once there was but dry sand, the irrigated lands and gardens, beautiful roads once but rocky trails, flowering orchards, and beautiful homes, towns and cities springing into existence.
Truly, even from a material point of view, the Glory of the Lord is made manifest. These pilgrims from every religion of the world drawn into a joyous recognition of the Love of God and the unity of man have truly found that “highway” which leadeth to heights celestial. And as they sing their songs of joy, songs of this New Day, one realizes with a catch and a tug at his heartstrings, how truly the vision of the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled, for “the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Divine Light shining throughout the world. Now, under the banner of the oneness of humanity, all people of all creeds should turn away from prejudice-and become friends and believers in all the Prophets. As Christians believe in Moses, so the Jews should believe in Jesus. As the Muhammadans believe in Christ and in Moses, so likewise the Jews and the Christians should believe in Muhammad. Then all disputes would disappear, all then would be united. Bahá’u’lláh came for this purpose. He has made the three religions one. He has uplifted the standard of the oneness of faith and the honor of humanity in the center of the world.. Today we must gather round it, and try with heart and soul to bring about the union of mankind.”
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A view of Bahji, where Bahá'u'lláh lived near 'Akká, Palestine.
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Hussein Rabbani, Mrs. Jean Bolles and Mrs. Emogene Hoagg in the courtyard of the Mosque at Haifa, where ’Abdu’l-Bahá frequently worshipped.
Camera glimpses of
Haifa and 'Akká, Palestine,
from recent photographs
taken by Mrs. Jean Bolles
of Montreal, Canada.
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The Western Pilgrim House at Haifa.
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A corner of the City of 'Akká, Palestine.
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Glimpse of environs of Bahji near ’Akká.
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A group of nine cypresses on Mt. Carmel.
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A group of Bahá’í's from New York and other neighboring cities gathered at the “Annual Souvenir Feast of ’Abdu’l-Bahá,” held at the home of Mr. Roy C. Wilhelm and his mother at West Englewood, N. J., June 25, 1927. (See opposite page).
“True Bahá'í meetings are the mirrors of the Kingdom wherein images of the Supreme Concourse are reflected. In them the lights of the most great guidance are visible. They voice summons of the heavenly kingdom and echo the call of the angelic hosts to every listening ear.“–'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The ineffaceable traces of His visit to America were left by ’Abdu'l-Bahá in the hearts of His friends. He occupied that house, spoke under this tree, or walked through a certain park; which makes them profoundly precious to those, who in imagination, can heighten them to become the conveyors of His actual Presence.
These physical objects, however, can only survive within marked limits of time and space. It is in those institutions of eternal significance, impregnated by the Spirit of the Master, founded by Him upon the solidarity of the human heart, upon the divine yearning within the human soul that makes all aspiring men everywhere of of one kindred and of one family; it is in such foundations, hallowed by His Creative Word, that the very Power and Purpose of His Life are actually expressed.
Such is the annual meeting continued as a “Souvenir of ’Abdu’l-Bahá,” and founded by Him personally at West Englewood, New Jersey, in June, 1912.
Each year on this anniversary, Mr. Roy C. Wilhelm and his mother lovingly welcome as guests of ’Abdu’l-Bahá the Bahá’ís and their friends from all over the world.
Several hundred gathered on June twenty-fifth to commemorate the founding of the Feast and the visit of ’Abdu’l-Bahá fifteen years ago.
The weather was favorable, so after a picnic lunch in an adjoining grove, these friends gathered in the
shade of the trees overhanging Evergreen Cabin, to listen to a most interesting group of addresses delivered by representatives of different races, nations and creeds. The universal and inclusive character of the addresses confirmed the advent of a New Age, struck as a keynote by Mr. Wilhelm in his graceful introductory remarks.
Mr. Mountfort Mills, who has so adequately brought from Haifa after his long sojourn with Shoghi Effendi the peace and refreshment of that unique and potent spot, read the Words uttered by ’Abdu’l-Bahá on the occasion when that now historic group first gathered here as His guests.
This was followed by a vigorous exposition of the Bahá’í teachings and principles set forth by Mr. James F. Morton. Mr. Morton, a scholar, scientist and linguist of note, eloquently told the story of how the breadth and sanity of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh had rescued him from atheism and the cynicism of a materialistic outlook.
Mr. Morton was followed by the Rev. Richard Bolder, pastor of the Harlem Immanuel Church, who spoke with the fire and feeling of his gifted race, on the significance of ’Abdu’l-Bahá as a racial unifier.
Mrs. Marie B. Moore read from the Utterances of Bahá’u’lláh with interesting illustrations and comments. She was followed by Mrs. Mary Hanford Ford, who, with the grace and forcefulness that have endeared her to two generations of Bahá’ís, set
forth the inner meaning of such a gathering, convened from so many races, lands and clinics.
Dr. H. H. Proctor, Congregational minister from Brooklyn, gave a stirring account of the work of his colored congregation in building a church, to be opened in the fall, in which many sects and denominations will worship. One of the rooms in this edifice will be dedicated to ’Abdu’l-Bahá.
A feature that contributed an element of true loveliness to the meeting was the music furnished by one of the village choirs. Due to some inadvertence the organ, which was to have been delivered by truck to the Log Cabin, failed to come, so the church members carried it several blocks in order to contribute the music for the occasion. The voices seemed unusually beautiful in the soft air and lent great charm to the program.
The feature of outstanding importance at the Souvenir meeting was the presence of Ruhi Effendi Afnan, who but a few days before had arrived from Haifa, Palestine. The most striking characteristics of this pleasing young man are sanity and modesty. Gifted with exceptional clarity of thought and native penetration, he brings to the work of the Cause a true spiritual ardor, that usually does not accompany the attitude of the student.
To the average man an ideal is something wistful, elusive, withdrawn, impractical. To the social benefactor and man of vision the ideal is not the antithesis of the practical: the ideal and the practical go hand in hand; the antithesis of the ideal is the brutal. The only distinction between the ideal and the practical is a difference of tense: the practical
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Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler and Ruhi Effendi Afnan.
is present; the ideal is future. And if today’s ideal does not become the practice of tomorrow, then it was not an ideal at all, but a phantasy, a chimera, a vagary. It is with the definite assurance that today’s teaching will become tomorrow’s action that Ruhi Effendi Afnan continually speaks of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. To his enlightened eyes “the glory of the coming of the Lord” is already existent, and the government of Bahá’u’lláh already established, through that leap of the mind that sees the present order of brutality and chaos replaced by the “healing of the nations.”
In his brief speech he developed a
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Showing the natural auditorium between the “Evergreen Log Cabin” on the left and Mr. Wilhelm’s home on the right. The speaker is Mr. James F. Morton.
very interesting theme on the reconciliation of science and religion.
There is always an exuberance in such Bahá’í gatherings. The picnic supper in the grove was a joyous reunion of old friends and new, a merry material feast following such a noble spiritual banquet. It was most gratifying to note a large number of new Bahá’ís, inducted into the Cause during the past year.
At the evening session Mr. Hooper Harris, of New York, one of the most impressive and informed speakers in the Cause, gave a brief survey of some of the fundamental Bahá’í teachings, followed by Ruhi Effendi Afnan, who, with his marked lucidity and restraint, set forth our most important principles.
The memorable day was brought to a close by a prayer and benediction from a local minister.
Bahá’í meetings continually demonstrate the efficacy of the teachings of the Founders of the Faith. Particularly is it noticeable in this sacred spot in West Englewood where the Divine Exemplar traveled the path and pointed the way. “You must know,” said ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “that God is compassionate towards all; you must love all from the utmost depths of your heart * * * You shall by no manner of means prefer yourselves before others. * * * Let all your thoughts be turned toward the rejoicing of hearts. * * * Let each one amongst you be illumined, be spiritual, be divine, be glorious, be of God, and be a Bahá’í.”
This is the second in a series of travel stories by Mrs. Schopflocher, the first having been published in June. Our intrepid, alert and gifted Bahá’í teacher has enormous capacity for enjoying both “material and spiritual adventures” and herein gives an amazing and colorful picture of her unusual experiences.—Editor.
THE Mediterranean has always held a great fascination for me. Having very often sailed over that “tideless sea,” I have had many and varied opportunities for observation, and like others who possess “eyes that see,” these observations are always accompanied with an enthusiasm which forces one to expression “whether they will or no.” This story is not about the Miditerranean, however, but just to mention that while passing through the Bay of Naples en route to Haifa, Palestine, or the Far East, I have many times gazed upon that smoking monster Vesuvius, towering above “a smiling pastoral country, dotted with towns and vineyards.” My adventure in “flying” showed me how it is quite another matter to fly over this great volcano and look within that opening in the earth’s surface and watch the molten flame-colored lava bubbling actively like a great kettle of flames.
Now my “flying” experience is the only reason for giving you this story. Let me begin by taking you back to Green Acre, the summer colony of the Bahá’ís in Eliot, Maine. While there last September, I jokingly said to some friends, “I would like to fly to India”—having heard much at that time of the projected plans for this great undertaking. Soon thereafter I sailed for England, all the time carrying in my mind this thought of “an adventure in flying” and cherishing the hope that my wish would be realized. Later in the winter I traveled to Spain and Portugal, and when I left my friend, Miss Martha Root, in Lisbon, hoping to start on a tour of the Canary Islands, there was not the slightest indication that my dream of “flying” would come true. It is said that if you “hold a thought” long enough, it’s bound to be translated into the world of action. This doctrine may or may not be true, but I do know that I am no longer singing, “I Wonder if Dreams Come True,” but instead, “I know That Dreams Come True.”
Imagine my surprise one morning when I was in “Cook’s office” asking for a seat in an aeroplane for Paris, thence steamer accommodations to Haifa, Palestine, en route to India, my destination, to be informed that an aeroplane carrying three pilots, one radio operator and a mechanic, would leave the following Monday, and by paying approximately the same transportation fare as by steamer, I could “take plane” as far as Egypt. The opportunity had come and it did not take me long to make my decision. Radiantly happy was I on that following Monday morning when I found myself comfortably settled, “flying” the first part of my journey. The plane ascended over Croydon, headed straight for the channel, and descended at Dijon for lunch. Immediately thereafter we hopped off for Marseille, flying at about an average of one hundred and twenty miles an hour, leaving the fast express train from Paris crawling
along the ground. Sometimes we traveled at an altitude of six thousand feet, and in five hours arrived at Marseilles in time for tea. That night we stayed at a French hotel at the aerodrome. At dawn the next morning we departed for Pisa; daylight crept over the mountain range behind us and we flew into the rising sun, with snow-capped Mount Remo on the left and the Mediterranean on the right. One moment we looked down at Cannes, and ten minutes later we were passing over famous Monte Carlo. During this part of the journey we flew as high as eight thousand feet, and descended near the leaning Tower of Pisa. We lunched with the Italian air force, and had long discussions regarding airways eventually being used for peace instead of war.
To fly over Rome is perhaps one of the thrills of a lifetime. The great Coliseum and other landmarks of this ancient and historic city, as viewed from high up in the air, beggars description. An Egyptian prince and a Reuter correspondent, “last minute” passengers in this plane, were as entranced with the panorama spread out before us as we were. We all rushed across the large “H 66” Hercules, opened the windows and thrilled with interest. We then learned from Great Britain’s finest pilot, Capt. Raymond Hinchliffe, that the plane remains level until released, so that it was not necessary for us to keep our seats. You will be interested to know that I used my typewriter in midair, and once played the small Peter Pan gramophone, Gounod’s Ave Maria was not difficult to hear with the three great engines purring evenly.
After circling Vesuvius twice we flew through the Straits of Messina to Catania, Sicily, and over many beautiful vineyards. After lunching in Sicily with the air force, we headed for the open sea, the little jeweled towns rapidly disappeared from sight. We flew straight to Malta, and landed one hour and thirty minutes later in Valetta, having been escorted part of the way by two hydroplanes that came to welcome us. We had no hydroplane or other seafaring facilities on our De Havaland Hercules.
Homs, Africa, was our next landing place, and this is a station in the Italian Libyan desert, where we were supplied with more petrol. Not a single sea craft came into view as we flew serenely on toward Africa, and after two hours and fifteen minutes flying through a sunny sky we saw Homs. There was much excitement among the Arabs at this station while they were filling the great tanks with the petrol which they strained through huge chamois skins. We lunched on board our plane, a few supplies having been taken along with us from Malta early that morning. Then we were off again, but this time over the sandy desert, and—the savage Senussi tribes who had murdered in cold blood over one hundred Italian officers and soldiers during the past year! We only flew low enough to be out of gun range. These tribes assembled in almost the twinkling of an eye, running toward a central meeting place; chickens, sheep, camels, and, Sennusi on great horses dashing about with their burnous flying in the wind. We watched the leveling of guns in our direction and ascended high in the air, racing at about one hundred and forty miles an hour. The Sennusi were very attractive with white kafirs and red burnous as they
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Landing at Bengazi, Africa, in the Libyan desert. Mrs. Schopflocher fourth from right.
frantically rode about fearful evidently lest our great flying monster might descend and destroy them.
Sollum, Africa, was our next landing place, and from there we traveled on to Bengazi, where to my utter surprise appeared the British consul, Mr. Palmer, who formerly was consul at Damascus and who had taken me on his famous exploration trip across the Syrian desert to Baghdad. This trip opened the motor route known today as the Nairn Motor Service. It was through Mr. Palmer, also, that I first met King Feisal and the High Commissioner, Sir Perry and his wife, Lady Cox, in Baghdad, who loaned me their private railway car to visit Babylon. That was in 1924. (I have digressed somewhat, but such thoughts from the storehouse of my memory seem to come forth for expression; however, no harm is done in acquainting you with this bit of history.) To return to Bengazi: After the Italian Governor and Consul Palmer had given us two receptions, we flew straight for the great Pyramids and into Heliopolis, Egypt, landing at the aerodrome near Cairo.
And thus ended the greatest of my material adventures: unique, fascinating, thrilling, inspiring. If it is difficult to convey to you my full impression of this material adventure, how much more difficult will it be to express those fine inner feelings which accompany a spiritual adventure. But many there be who will comprehend all that cannot be conveyed in words.
There are adventures and adventures to be experienced in Persia, this land of great antiquity; but rarer than all is that spiritual adventure or experience which happens perhaps but once in the lifetime of the average individual.
Shiraz, the city with much sublime and sacred history and a mystical
past, was like a magnet, attracting me until I could no longer resist the call to visit that loved Bahá’í center. I longed to see the house in which the Báb was born and where, later, He declared Himself as the Herald of “Him Whom God would manifest”—the Herald of that New Revelator Who was to speak with divine authority and unite the world. Many were the thoughts also of the faithful and loyal disciples of the Bab, many of whom gave up their lives joyfully in His path. How, these thoughts lured me on until at last here I am in the midst of this enthralling spiritual atmosphere, my hopes realized.
While I was sitting cross-legged on the inimitable carpets of Kerman and Shiraz, in spiritual surroundings I cannot describe (but one feels all the time that peace and power beyond anything human)—I could not help but contemplate on those early Christians in the catacombs of Rome and its Appian Way; for had we not passed through a somewhat similar experience this very night on our way to visit the hallowed spot where the first glimmer of the Light of the New Day flickered forth eighty-four years ago! Had we not passed through dismally lighted thoroughfares, hazardous alleys, walking one behind the other, fearful lest we attract the fanatics surging through these narrow streets in the darkness of the night!
Many tourists ask to be taken to this sanctified place, but only the few are admitted to the actual building. Attacks must be prevented from the fanatics who every now and then arise to try and stamp out the teachings and annihilate the Bahá’ís.
I am wondering what Gertrude Emerson will write about her visit to Shiraz when she returns to America.
It will be interesting to read the impression of a non-Bahá’í who has visited the outer portal of the “House of Inspiration” as the house where the Báb was born is called. Its fragrance is indescribable and its spiritual meanings cannot be conveyed by word.
Centuries ago a Persian poet called “The Moolah of Rumm” wrote this poem about Shiraz:
- “Tell me gentle traveller, thou,
- Who has wandered far and wide,
- Seen the sweetest roses blow
- And the brightest rivers glide,
- Say, of all thine eyes have seen,
- Which the fairest land hath been?
- Tis, where those we love abide:
- And that little spot is blest
- Which the loved one’s foot hath prest.
- Though it be a fairy space,
- Wide and spreading in the place;
- Though ’twere but a barren mound,
- ’Twould become enchanted ground.”
Yesterday I visited, outside the city, the tombs of Hafiz and Sadi, the great poets. Very uninteresting sites for those of such distinction. The city of Shiraz is unique, quite different from other cities in Persia. Sir Gore Ouseley has written—
- “I find no land can ever vie
- With bright Shiraz in purity;
- And blest forever be the spot
- Which makes all other climes forgot!”
Every city in Persia has thousands of Bahá’ís with one common purpose, bound together by that “Love which passeth all understanding,” and whose motto is “Unity in Diversity.” How often have I been greeted by that musical salutation so familiar to Bahá’ís all over the world, “Allah-u-Abhá,” yet unknown and meaningless
to those who have not yet entered the tent of unity and accepted the New Revelation.
Many intelligent people inquired of me whether this Bahá’ís Revelation is an offshoot of Islam. If this were so then Christianity would be an offshoot of Judaism as Christ was a Jew and Judaism the religion prevailing at that time. Few scholars of the Western world realize the thread running through the succession of the “Manifestations of God” Who have visited the world from time to time. Even though Muhammad may have been a Messenger exclusively for the Arabs, yet surely He was an inspired Messenger of God, and it is logical to believe that Muhammad being the last of God’s Messengers, this branch of the Prophetic tree should produce the next Great World Teacher, and that undoubetdly Bahá’u’lláh is the Revelator of this Day. Those who study the conditions and the times connected with the advent of these various spiritual Revealers, cannot fail to link the underlying keynotes of one and all.
Here I am in delightful Isfahan, the ancient capitol, possessor of Persia’s most famous thoroughfare called the “Street of Four Gardens.” Incidentally I might tell you that the melons here are deliciously full of flavor; but the pomgranites of Shiraz still cloy my imagination as I remember the trail of pips left behind all the way as we traveled by motor. There are many other good things in this old city of some one hundred thousand population.
I was welcomed by hosts of Bahá’ís with that remarkable understanding known to all. The women are straining at the leash, looking with longing eyes towards the West for help that is slowly on its way. Visible signs were seen in Syrian Tripoli where I witnessed the emancipation of the first Muslim woman east of Constantinople. The flame is spreading eastward and before long will reach Irak and Persia. It was thrilling to visit the Shah’s former palace and the large reception room with its restored paintings of Manucher Khan, then Governor of Isfahan, who befriended the Báb and secluded Him in the famous “Tower of Forty Pillars.” My escorts were of the highest military rank and of the oldest families of Isfahan. The Bahá’ís of this city are scholarly and cultured men; and the women are studying more and more and longing for the establishment of that complete equality between men and women which the Bahá’í Revelation teaches.
This city boasts the only manufacturing plant in all Persia.
Abadeh is a very oriental city of about 50,000; most of the leading men of the city are Bahá’ís, also those in the highest military circles and those holding municipal or government posts. Therefore we have an active progressive Bahá’í community. The women are a little more advanced than most other cities in the East, and many of their sons and daughters have gone to the American College at Beirut. Syria, to study medicine and other professions.
(To be continued.)
THROUGHOUT history we find human beings trying to solve the problems of the universe. Whenever man, having leisure for abstract thinking, has set himself to the task of thought research, he has striven to get at the deeper meanings of phenomena, to penetrate the mysteries of life. In the light of this age of universal concepts what does creation appear to be?
Creation has two aspects, an outer and an inner, a seen and an unseen. Outwardly creation is an effect that consists of the formation and disintegration of objects, through the union and separation of evolving elements.
The inner aspect of creation is the unseen life force that produces all activity of the elements. It is the unseen, animating cause of the outer creation.
Nature is that reality which in appearance consists of life and death, or the composition and decomposition of all things.
Creation is the arena in which the Will of the Creator operates to bring into visible identity the hidden Essence of His Perfections.
“But,” the materialist objects, “there is no creator of this universe except nature herself. Every objective phenomenon is composed of elements. Natural law operates throughout nature to produce all things. Nature creates herself.”
“Quite true,” agrees the philosopher, “natural law operates continuously to form nature; but from whence comes that law? What is the source of nature and her law?”
There can be imagined only three possible causes for composition—accidental, involuntary, or voluntary.
If we believe the cause of creation to be accidental we are illogical, because we believe in an effect without a cause. Creation is an end-product, a result, an effect. There must be a cause for that effect.
Every effect is the sign of a cause. Nothing exists without a cause. A house is a sign of the carpenter who built the house. A loaf of bread is a token of the breadmaker. Every picture gives evidence of the artist who painted it. Every book is a proof of the writer of the book. Creation is an effect, there must be a cause for that effect.
If there is a cause for creation, composition is not accidental.
2. If we say that the composition of elements to form objects is involuntary, we are affirming that it is absolutely necessary for those elements to unite due to their inherent qualities or nature—that is, each element has a “uniting quality” that compels it to unite with other elements.
It would be a quality of each element in the same way that heat is a quality of fire, or light is a quality of the sunlight. If the sun had no light it would not be the sun. If fire had no heat it would not be fire. So if “uniting with other elements” was a necessary quality of each element there would be no such thing as decomposition, there would be continuous union–for the essential property of a thing cannot be separated from it.
But we observe that decomposition does exist. Everything that is composed of elements is ultimately decomposed or disintegrated; its elements separate, and the object that they had united to compose disappears or dies.
Thus it is proved that involuntary composition cannot be the cause of creation.
Only the third type of composition remains, and that is voluntary. By exclusion, we have proved the cause of creation to be voluntary.
Voluntary action springs only from will. Man is the chief part of creation that has will; but man cannot create himself. Experimentors have made many attempts in that direction, but the combination and balance of elements, the secret of life is always lacking. The logical conclusion is that the Creator of this universe has Voluntary Will that is superior to the will of man.
We have proved then that an Unseen Power that might be described as the Ancient Power causes these elements to come together, every composition giving rise to a distinct formation.
Man, the highest of the created forms, has proved to himself, by logical deductions, that he as a part of this great universe has a Creator.
Creation is an effect produced by a Cause superior to any part or all parts of itself. Creation is the surrounded, the comprehended. The Cause of creation is the Surrounder, the Comprehender. Some people name that Primal Cause of creation, "God.”
God is a Divine Sun from which emanates all life. It is the emanation of life from this Unknown Essence of a Superior Intelligence that constitutes the inner aspect of creation and produces all activity of the elements.
The next natural query is, “What is the purpose of creation? Why does this process of composition and decomposition, this life and death continuously take place?”
Again we must depend on observation and deduce logical conclusions. Science has proved that nothing is lost in creation—i. e., the simple elements, as elements, are indestructible, and are constantly evolving. In this sense “simple” means not composed. Any composed object must of necessity be decomposed.
Let us study the world from an analytical standpoint. We observe four kingdoms of nature,—the mineral, the vegetable, the animal and the human. Throughout these kingdoms the process of composition and decomposition, of life and death, is ever at work.
The rose in all its beauty lives but to wither and die; but the elements that became a part of that rose continue to live. Each element carries with it the impress of that rose experience. All the perfections of the rose continue to live in every simple element that composed it. Each element has gained a little more refinement, has attained to a little more of the beauty of life through its rose experience.
Observation reveals a world of evolving elements that cannot be annihilated. “The changes we observe throughout nature are but transformative modifications in the composition of the essence.”
The elements begin their journey in the mineral knigdom, where the most limited degree of life is to be found. Their journey continues through the higher kingdoms of nature,—after the mineral the vegetable, next the animal, and lastly the human. Each succeeding experience permits of a more complete expression of life.
Each single primordial element passes through the grades of existence, always expressing its inherent and peculiar virtue in a greater and fuller degree. For example, let us follow one simple element on its journey through the four kingdoms of nature. For convenience we will call that element “X.”
Please take notice! We are going to outline the journey of the smallest, indivisible particle of matter. We will name that simple element X.
In the mineral kingdom we find X united with other elements to form a rock. Here X is expressing the virtue of cohesion, or the power of union with other elements to form an object, a rock. The elements have been drawn together by the law of
“like seeks like and finds affinity with its own kind.” After a period of time has elapsed the rock disintegrates and the elements that compose it are free to unite with other elements in the formation of other mineral substances. When decomposition of the rock takes place, X dies to the form of the rock and becomes ready for a new mineral experience. At one time X unites with elements to form a piece of coal—at another time a nugget of gold, and at still a later time X unites with other elements to form a diamond. Each new experience is begun through the process of composition and ended through the process of decomposition. The selection of elements that compose the objects is always governed by the law of “like seeks like and finds affinity with its own kind.” By the time X has completed its experiences in the mineral kingdom its inherent perfections have unfolded until it is ready to manifest the added power of growth that has been latent within it.
X now enters the vegetable kingdom. It unites with other elements, which have evolved to the same degree, to express the lowest form of vegetable life. At one time X becomes a part of a seed. After the seed has been planted in the earth and watered, it throws off its old seed-coating, before it gives forth the sprouts of a new plant. X has died to the form of a seed, and found new life in the form of a plant. Through the process of composition and decomposition, X passes through myriad forms of the vegetable kingdom until it attains the capacity of manifesting the five senses of the animal kingdom that lie latent within it. These are the powers of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.
In the vegetable kingdom X unites with other elements, which have advanced to the same stage of evolution, to form the body of a lion,—at another time it assists in the composition of the body of a lamb. Through the process of composition and decomposition X passes through countless animal forms. After its experiences in the animal kingdom are complete and perfected, X has attained the possibility of union with elements that compose the human form.
Here we find X approaching the apex of creation. In the human kingdom X not only manifests the power of attraction or cohesion shown in the animal kingdom, plus the power of growth first seen in the vegetable kingdom, plus the five senses, taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight belonging to the animal kingdom, but X now associates with elements that show forth the added ability to give expression to the powers of the intellect—the power of observation, imagination, thought, comprehension and memory.
Do not misunderstand me to say that the human reality, the soul of man has evolved from the animal to the human kingdom. That is not true. Man was always a man, a distinct specie, from the beginning of his existence. The thing that we have traced from the mineral, through the vegetable, and including animal life also, is one of the simple, indestructible elements of which man’s physical body is composed. What is true concerning one element is true concerning all elements that make up the physical body of man.
In the human kingdom when death takes place, the elements that composed the body return to their original, simple state,—“Dust to dust and ashes to ashes.” Every experience in a human form awakens in each element; that becomes a part of that body, a new capacity for expressing life.
As X dies to the intelligence of one human being through the death and decomposition of the body, it is ready to unite with other elements to form another human temple fitted to express greater intelligence and a higher and more refined aspect of
life. Throughout the human kingdom the evolution of X is steadily progressive. X partakes of the life experience of endless forms of humanity, ever adding a new phase to its fund of knowledge. Finally “when the ever-widening circle of man’s knowledge has reached the spiritual world, a Manifestation of God is sent to mirror forth His Splendor.”
X has united with other elements, that have evolved to a similar stage of perfection as itself, attracted by the law of “like seeks like and finds affinity with its own kind.” A perfected human temple is born, composed of elements that act as diamonds in the human kingdom.
A flawless diamond, perfectly cut, has no color of itself, but by its very lack of color is able to catch and reflect all the colors of the sunlight.
Capacity is a magnet that attracts its own supply. Through the evolution of simple primordial elements, through the vehicle of natural law, the Supreme Intelligence responsible for this creation, has brought into being a diamond of the human kingdom—a highly refined human body, prepared to act as an instrument of expression for all perfections possible of identification at that particular period of creational experience.
The elements that make up that evolved human temple have unfolded the capacity for attracting and reflecting an ideal expression of human life.
A true Man, “imbued with the attributes of the Merciful,” expressing “the image and likeness of God” lives on the earth, and uses this sentitive human instrument to carry to all created beings a message concerning the truth of life, which the capacity and need of the people of the age has attracted. A Spiritual Being, a great World Teacher renews the Springtime of Divine Revelation, founds again the Civilization Spiritual, and radiates to all mankind His Knowledge of All Life.
The purpose of all evolution throughout nature, the purpose of composition and decomposition, of life and death, is to ever increase capacity, make possible an expression of fuller and more perfect life. “Life radiates throughout all creation according to the degree of receptivity.”
Creation as it appears today is the arena in which the Will of the Creator operates to bring into visible identity the hidden essence of His Perfections.
AMITY at Green Acre*! Certainly no innovation this. All the traditions of this favored spot during the years have upheld this divine principle in its application to various peoples. Servants of human welfare in shining array have demonstrated in beautiful Green Acre those ideals which inspire all classes to mutual understanding and good will, yet a conference held here on July
* Green Acre is the Baha'i summer colony at Eliot, Maine.
22-23 last, whose specific purpose was the promotion of amity and accord between the white and colored races of America, revealed to those who attended a new sense of the power of human unity and a joy in service beyond one’s dreams. The problem of race relations in our national life has been complex and long. But that task which is the most difficult, humanly considered, when under the urge of a Divine Command, does it
not afford the best play for those Unseen Forces which make victory certain? Workers who in variety rounded the circle of humanity, in this latest effort joined hands, their hearts mellowed by a spirit that was regnant and supreme.
Mr. William H. Randall, opening the conferences, extended warm and cordial greetings to all, with a reminder that Green Acre has ever stood for universal thoughts. Even as all the Prophets of God have loved mountains, so must the thoughts of men now attain new spiritual heights. Such gatherings as these embody that divine principle of human oneness around which the thoughts of all men must revolve before humanity can discover its own reality.
The progressive movement among the clergy, striving zealously to wed religion to life and to harness up the ideal power to bear human burdens, had three exponents in Rev. John R. Custis, pastor of the only colored church in New Hampshire, who prayed that the spirit of amity might spread throughout the world; Rev. Dr. Samuel McComb, one of the founders of the Emanuel Movement, who with moving eloquence explained the Christian ideal of brotherhood, excoriating those forces which work inwardly and outwardly for strife; and Rev. William Safford Jones, the well-beloved Unitarian, pastor of an old and wealthy church, whose friendliness toward the humble and weak is a sign of the sacred fire which consumes all veils.
Among the features appeared Mr. Devere Allen, editor of “The World Tomorrow,” a progressive white man who spoke on “The New White Man,” and Mr. Leslie Pinckney Hill, a progressive colored man who spoke on “The New Negro.” Although neither speaker, perforce the pressure of toil and many engagements, could hear the address of the other, yet they seemed moved by a common impulse and purpose as each in his way, clearly, eloquently and unmistakably, demonstrated the appearance in his own group of a new humanity entirely free from the dross of envy, hatred and prejudices.
Mrs. Eleanor Trent Wallace read the Negro National Anthem with an emotional power that thrilled. This noble poem, written by Mr. James Welden Johnson, is so broad in its idealism as to describe the upward struggle of any race, class or nation of earth.
Three exceptionally fine artists, Mesdames Dorothy Richardson and Ethel Hardy Smith and Miss Dorothy Wood, generous with their talents, supplied all the music of the conferences, singing Negro spirituals and songs of jubilee that delighted their hearers beyond praise. These friends were asked to give their talents to amity, and happy was their response.
Were you there when Mr. Alfred E. Lunt introduced Mr. Leslie Pinckney Hill? What a scene was this! Two stalwart sons of America, the one white, the other black, as the world describes faces, stood arm in arm, united by a tie which had held them a quarter of a century from the time when together they studied at Harvard University. As they stood there together, the background of each was significant of the linking together of two elements in American life. There stood the New Englander whose ancestors, voluntary exiles from Europe, conquered a bleak and wild country, transplanted a civilization, became pioneers in education and with high moral purpose and with Bible and blue back speller, enkindled the torch of learning among the colored freedmen of the South. In Leslie Pinckney Hill one could see typified the colored race, profiting by its freedom and the encouragment of its friends, breaking the bonds of ignorance and climbing the heights of knowledge, discovering so quickly its latent powers
as to make common cause in, a short time—“With the heirs of all the ages in the foremost march of time.”
When each had spoken, however, there was a larger significance and a deeper thrill. Due to their common faith in Bahá’u’lláh which each expressed in his own way, their friendship was more than personal, more than sectional; it was beautifully emblematic of a bond which unites the human family when conscious of God. So the black man with the grasp of a statesman and the vision of a seer, could present a survey of the world with no trace of bitterness, commending his own group to a program of high hopefulness through his faith in the eternal verities; and his friend, presiding at the final session and summing up the conferences, with scientific data and spiritual insight could prove the futility of all barriers erected by the ignorance and superstitions of men, could inspire divine exaltation and awaken in those present a sweet spirit which hovered like a benediction over all.
The message of the Mysterious East was brought to these conferences by four servants of God. Mrs. A. S. Parsons, chairman of the National Inter-racial Amity Committee, read the instructions of ’Abu’l-Bahá for the first Amity Convention held in America. It was the Creative Word which stirs into action the realities of all that is. Ruhi Effendi Afnan, scion of the noblest family of earth, mingled in joyfulness with the people of all races and in his formal address drew a striking picture of the entire lack of racial consciousness among people in the Orient who were awakened and taught human solidarity by the Holy Ones of God. Mesdames Edwina Powell and S. E. J. Oglesby, recently returned from their pilgrimages to Haifa, Palestine, and bearing, as it were, sacred scrolls of divine wisdom, explained the danger to all humanity which lurks in discord and entered strong pleas for effective action in the unity of all races.
The awakening of youth had a witness in Miss Mary Maxwell, who presided at this session, introducing the speakers with language rich in charm and relating her own experiences in applying the Bahá’í law of amity to a group of colored youth in her native city and the happy results that followed.
No record of amity would be complete without reference to the splendid services of our great teacher, Mr. Albert Vail, whose gentle spirit, tactful yet courageous approach, radiant smile and soulful eloquence are so effective in broadening the horizons of people and advancing the Kingdom of God. Mr. Vail at this time gave a “New Vision of Human Oneness” and added a new record to human service.
Of the round table conference on race relations, a new feature of amity conventions, what shall we say? As an arm of service it was very strong and has doubtless come to stay. The talks were all bright, clever, had the merit of brevity and were valued aids in the spiritual wisdom for teaching. Prof. Carter Troop, ever a popular figure at Green Acre, in his jovial and witty mood, related a number of interesting experiences of his contacts with members of the colored race, whom he held in high esteem. Messrs. M. C. Oglesby, Samuel Green, Philip Marangella, Mrs. Grace Ober and Dr. Edna McKinney followed in turn, each contributing some gem of reality to the diadem of consultation. It was noticeable that each speaker appeared to make his auditors happy. Ruhi Effendi Afnan gave a parting word, expressing both wonder and delight in what he had seen and heard.
It is certain that amity at Green Acre has attained a new reach and power and this makes happy faces and radiant hearts.
