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| VOL. 19 | FEBRUARY, 1929 | NO. 11 |
| Page | |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb'' | 323 |
Love—A Poem, Sophronia Aoki | 324 |
Our Thought Life, Dr. Orrol L. Harper | 325 |
A Visit to Rustum Vambery, Martha L. Root | 330 |
To-morrow, Dale S. Cole | 332 |
The Rise of Persian Women, Zabih Ghorban | 337 |
Moving Pictures of the Future, Shahnaz Waite | 341 |
Mysticism, Loulie Mathews | 344 |
'Abdu’l-Bahá in America, Dr. Zia Bagdadi | 346 |
The Broadening Social Consciousness, Stanwood Cobb | 351 |
later co-operation of 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 |
MARGARET 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--
A group of Bahà’i students attending the American University at Beirut, Syria. In the first row standing, third from left, is Zabih Ghorban, author of “The Rise of Persian Women.” (See page 337)
| VOL. 19 | FEBRUARY, 1929 | NO. 11 |
all the difficulties of the world will not touch him.”
THE NEED OF severance, of spiritual aloofness from the entanglements of life, is taught in all religions—in none so prominently as in the Bahà’i teaching. Let us appreciate the material blessings of life without attaching ourselves to the things of the world,—so exhorts ’Abdu’l-Bahá. “Attach not thyself to anything unless in it thou seest the reality of God. This is the first step into the court of eternity. That which is temporary does not deserve our heart’s attachment.”
But does this mean the rejection of the material means of subsistence? By no means. “Detachment,” ’Abdu’l-Bahá goes on to explain, “does not consist in setting fire to one’s house, or becoming bankrupt or throwing one’s fortune out of the window, or even in giving away all one’s possessions. Detachment consists in refraining from letting our possessions possess us.”
THAT there is a strange mysterious Power of Sustenence and Protection available to those individuals who really have learned from-the-heart-out the secret of severance, the lives of many deeply spiritual men and women of all faiths and through all time bear ample witness.
And the converse is true, that this Universal Treasury is at the disposal only of those who have risen above the acquisitive, accumulative, possessive motivation of the lower self. Below that spiritual altitude of perfect detachment, there is no assurance of stability of fortune, or of protection for accumulated hoards of wealth or power.
This, from the very nature of Destiny and the Universe, is inevitable, and capable of mathematical demonstration. For were every individual of acquisitive inclinations, of powerful will, and shrewd intelligence, enabled by Destiny to build permanent and stable stores of material wealth and power, the cosmos would eventually lapse into a state of anarchy and chaos compared to that which prevailed in the legendary days of the Titans.
No—the only safe and possible organization for the Cosmos lies in the transiency of all material things, the impermanence of human wealth and power, the instability of all institutions founded upon motivations of the lower self.
Power is granted, for a time, and wealth as its necessary concomitant. To all individuals of Herculean energy and Napoleonic will and intelligence, Destiny assigns so much
of opportunity, so much of legitimate province of achievement, as will in the end benefit humanity.
For Force, whether in a natural physical and chemical state, or in a human being, is a thing of immense value to the Universe, and utilized as such. But the question as to whether that force redounds to the ultimate advantage of the individual exponent of it depends upon the purity of motive and the degree of selflessness.
THE WORLD’s history is full enough of vivid pictures of disillusionment such as that offered us by the spectacle of a Napoleon on St. Helena to demonstrate that, as Victor Hugo said, when the individual begins to thwart the purposes of Destiny, it is the individual, not Destiny, which suffers defeat.
On the other hand, those whose purpose is to serve are given every aid of Destiny. The whole Universe moves to their direction, for their direction is but the Will of God.
When the individual, severed from desires of the self, looks to God for aid in worthy enterprises for the benefit of the world, there is a Power which guides and confirms all his efforts. “Our capabilities are limited, but the help of the Kingdom of Abha is limitless. . . . . The body of man is created for this world but his heart is made for the habitation of the Holy Spirit. . . . . When you are plowing the ground or sowing the seeds or reaping the harvest let all your thoughts and sub-conscious thinking be of God. Your hands and feet will be working but your heart must be attached to the Almighty.”
- Oh power, that makes the world go ‘round!
- Oh law, that keeps the spheres in place!
- Oh rule, that holds the tides in bound!
- Oh love, our Maker’s greatest grace!
- Subdued by centuries of war
- Your glowing flame burns low, half spent,
- Concealed beneath the ash of hate,
- No longer whitely innocent.
- They have not seen your purest fire,
- These last, who watch your flickering light.
- Do not lose hope! Another comes
- In all the Glory of His might,
- Bearing a torch. He will renew
- Your ancient flames. Oh faithful few,
- The light has been revived in men,
- Rejoice, for Love burns bright again!
A MUFFLED moan of longing penetrated the falling twilight. “Oh God, please make him let us go! Oh God, make him let us go! Help him to understand that we just can’t stay here alone every night this week. Oh God, please put it into his heart to let us go!”
In front of a low table in the summer kitchen of a humble home stood a slender girl of about eight years washing dishes. Although her hands moved automatically in the rythmic task of washing and drying dishes, tears streamed down her face, and her voice pleaded in scarcely audible tones, over and over again, “Oh God, make him come in and tell us we may go tonight. Oh God, please put it into my father’s heart to tell us we may go with him tonight!”
All the faith, all the sincerity and determination of an intense nature radiated from this tiny girl, lost to every conscious thought except her desperate effort to reach the Ear of One whom she believed could accomplish anything. Utter abandon possessed her. Her whole being reached out in concentrated prayer to the Source of All Power and Understanding.
Suddenly her efforts ceased, and a look of peaceful calm spread over her earnest countenance. An atmosphere of contentment and finality seemed to enfold her. Having finished her dishes, she turned to light a lamp in the now darkened room, when the door opened and a man came in carrying a large pail full of milk.
Not one word did the maiden speak until her father announced, “Well, Mary Ann, I have changed my mind. You may go and get brother ready now and I will take you over to the festival. You may stay until mother and I come home.”
Softly the child answered, “Thank you father.” Outwardly the small body was so calm and quiet, but inwardly a radiant blaze of thankfulness was lighted. God had answered her prayer! From the depths of those thoughtful child eyes such a glow of eternal faith shone forth as would make one glimpse the vision of endless miracles to come.
“Just a visit to a church festival and the possibility of not being left alone at home with her baby brother—an insignificant cause for such desperate effort,” you say. But to the little girl that incident was the biggest and most serious event of her life at the moment. With her whole soul she had prayed—and her prayer had been answered.
Does it mean then that all prayer is answered, and that prayer is a means of obtaining what we want? It is becoming a thoroughly established fact that thought is a thing which produces effect.
Science has demonstrated, for instance, that fear and anger produce certain definite changes in both animal and human organisms. W. B. Cannon of Harvard University has proved by extensive laboratory tests that fear and anger stimulate the secretion of adrenalin into the
system. An excessive supply of adrenalin constricts the superficial blood-vessels and thus blanches the body surface. At the same time the digestive organs stop operating,—the blood is rushed from the digestive organs and from the surface of the body into the muscles. Sugar in the form of dextrose, which is a muscle food, is thrown into the system. The blood-pressure is raised and the heart-beat accelerated to increase strength; while the bronchioles of the lungs are dilated to permit more free and rapid breathing. The body is all set for fight or flight.
We can see how this physiological change in the body of the animal becomes the means of self-preservation,-for if an animal is being hunted it must fight or run if it is to live.
A human organism is affected in the same way by thoughts of fear and anger, or their first cousins worry and resentment,—but in this case the results are usually detrimental rather than beneficial—for a human being does not as a rule run or fight with physical force, even though his body may be ‘all set’ and seething with desire for such emotional outlet. The result of all this suppressed emotion is a damning up of natural forces, followed by pathological changes in the body cells. We have all seen someone “livid with rage,” we have witnessed a loss of appetite or an upset stomach if food has been taken regardless of the shattering inroads made by an attack of fear or anger.
You may say, “Well, if suppression of impulses and outward control of my feelings are injurious to health, the next time I am burning
with rage, I’ll just let her go and rip up the world around me.”
A serious second thought might be advisable, my friend, before you bring upon yourself the remorse and regret that must inevitably overwhelm one who tramples upon the feelings of others in any attempt to line up the inhabitants of the world after his own pattern. There are as many patterns of life as there are human beings; and each pattern has as much right to express itself in human activity as you or I. A second thought suggests that the man ravaged by the effects of rage could have taken unto himself a more desirable companion. The sisters “Tolerance,” “Peace” and “Understanding” are said to be comfortable and enticing women. At any rate we can remember the relief that has come to us in the midst of an invasion of extreme personal depression when some happy, kind, hopeful soul has blown in on the breeze of the morning and left the cheer and sunshine of an optimistic nature behind.
If thoughts backed by their accompanying feelings and emotions always produce results, would it not be well to use care in the selection of our thoughts and desires?
IT HAS BEEN SAID that heartfelt prayer is the most vital kind of thought, because the one possessed by prayer concentrates his effort upon a given desire, with the abandon and ecstacy that is only possible when one is calling for the intervention of a Power which is recognized as stronger than oneself and in whose ability to accomplish the suppliant has absolute faith.
The element of faith is fast becoming recognized as the greatest
magic that a human soul can utilize. If a physician is to obtain the best results in the care of any patient, the one afflicted must have true faith in him and his methods of treatment. It would seem that faith in a Creative Wisdom that is comprehensive in power and understanding is the element that gives prayer its dynamic.
We observe that certain types of so-called prayer produce very little if any effect. The formalistic prayer that represents a wordy hodgepodge of would-be sentiments, prayer that does not touch the core of the heart, that is not supported by sincere feeling is not in the same class of thinking as that illustrated by the intensive effort of the eight-year old girl.
Observation will reveal the fact that the average man is most likely to pray when he feels helpless in the grip of dire necessity or trouble. So long as man can help himself he is apt to forge ahead in the strength of his own ability to accomplish. But when he reaches the place where his best efforts appear fruitless, an instinctive faith in some Wisdom more powerful and farseeing than himself urges him to ask for help.
It would seem then that faith is the secret power of prayer. Faith is the element that makes of heartfelt prayer the most effective kind of thinking.
Man has discovered that all attempts to create his kind in the laboratory from chemical constituents are useless and a failure. The exact combination of elements, the secret of life, is always lacking. The result is instinctive respect for and belief in some Superior Intelligence
that has created the human being as a part of this vast universe. With his dependence and helplessness proven to him, man just naturally awakens to the consciousness of a Power outside himself that does accomplish.
In the child and unthinking man this reaction is natural and insensible. It is akin to the potential prayer of the plant which unconsciously seeks the gifts of rain and sunshine to fulfill its needs. In this sense of dependent unawareness all creation prays potentially and receives an answer. The unborn child cries, “O God! Give me a mother; give me two fountains of bright milk; purify the air for my breathing; prepare food for my sustenance and living.” When we come into the world do we not find our prayers answered? Do we not find mother, food, light, home and many other necessities supplied—although we have not actually asked for them?
It may seem strange to the man who never thinks of a Creator to be told that he is praying constantly along with the rest of the world. His prayer may be unconscious, but all creation prays potentially and receives an answer. Such prayer is the natural demand within us for life and its necessities. Each created existence, with all its gifts and blessings, is the answer to that prayer.
“Why then is there so much time and effort wasted in conscious praying,” you ask, “if our needs are supplied automatically and our prayers answered before we think to state them?”
You might as well ask, “Why grow up and prepare to be the capable
head of a family, when one could remain childlike and supplied with all necessities?”
What is the difference between a child who does not injure a man because of weakness and a Goliath who deliberately refrains from striking another human being? The child-state spells weakness and dependence, while the Goliath-state stands for developed strength and character.
The man who becomes aware of a Creative Wisdom beyond his ken, learns to seek guidance and inspiration from that apparently limitless source of supply. In proportion as man becomes conscious of life as a continuous benefit, unfolding endless perfections and growth, does he become thoughtful of a Source of all this progress.
The horizon of praying people varies in scope from the limited confines of the self to include its relatives, neighbors, nation, race, or universe respectively. The man who prays for help and protection for “me and my wife, my son John and his wife” has a very limited outlook compared to the soul who sees life as a Divine Benefit and himself as a tiny drop in the great ocean of creation.
The latter man seeks the Creator of All Good and Perfect Gifts with adoration and a boundless love. To him prayer opens a door of communication with the One Most To Be Desired. This “worshiper prays with a detached spirit, unconditional surrender of the will, concentrated attention, and magnetic spiritual passion. His inner being is stirred with the ethereal breeze of holiness. Heavenly pictures and star-like images of an ideal world
become reflected on his consciousness and gradually the man learns how to translate these celestial concepts into his own life, and the lives of many others who contact him.”
To such a man prayer is sweet, delicious, satisfying. He enjoys the heights of spiritual prayer in the middle of the night. “While all eyes are closed, the eyes of the worshiper are wide open. While all ears are stopped, the ears of the suppliant are attuned to the subtle music of God. While the majority of the people are fast asleep, the adorer of the Ideal Beloved is wakeful. All around him there is a rare and delicate silence, calm, magical, and subtle—and there is the worshiper communing with nature and the Author of nature.”
Here we find an answer to the question, “Why take time to pray consciously since all creation prays potentially and receives an answer?” The devoted worshiper just described prayed because it gave him joy, rest, peace, assurance and inspiration to be alone, meditate, and reach out with his whole being to the Source of All Good.
It has been said that “in the highest prayer men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear him, or fear hell, or hope for bounty or heaven. Thus the souls in whose hearts the fire of love is enkindled are attracted by supplication. True supplication must therefore be actuated by love for God only.”
When a man falls in love with a human being it is impossible for him to keep from mentioning the name of his beloved. How much
more difficult it is to keep from mentioning the name of God when one has come to love Him.
“God surely knows the wishes of all hearts and answers them according to the individual needs. But the impulse to pray is a natural one springing from man’s love to his Creator. If there be no love, if there be no pleasure or spiritual enjoyment in prayer, it would be better not to pray. Prayer should spring from love, from the desire of the person to commune with God.
“Prayer need not be in words, but in thought and attitude. If this love and desire are lacking, it is useless to pray. Words without love mean nothing. If a person talks to you as an unpleasant duty, with no love or pleasure in his meeting with you, do you wish to converse with him?
“Prayer is like a song, both words and music make a song. Sometimes the melody will move us, sometimes the words.”
- “If you are too weak to journey up the
- mountain steep and high,
- You can stand within the valley while the
- multitudes pass by;
- You can chant a happy measure as they
- slowly pass along
- Though they may forget the singer they
- will not forget the song.”
The point is that sincere prayer does move us. It stimulates our lagging powers, elevates our drooping spirits, awakens our sleeping consciousness, develops ability, broadens our mental horizon and gives us a desire to be of service to our fellowman. Conscious prayer adds to and augments potential prayer by increasing our capacity for receiving and reflecting the powers and gifts of life.
“Ask and ye shall receive, seek
and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.”
Some mysterious power makes our thought-life a very responsible and usable part of ourselves. Great systems of religion and healing have been built upon the foundation of thought values,—“Christian Science,” “New Thought” and “Unity” being among immediate notable examples.
’Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of a World-Wide Movement to establish Universal Peace, said as He gazed out at sea, “We hear the murmur of the sea always continuing. It never ceases. Were it to cease the world would be dead, stagnant, lifeless. But the waves of the mind of man are far greater than those of the sea. They also are ceaseless. They never stop for one instant. This movement is good. If these waves of the mind are few the man is dull and quiet. What pearls and jewels are contained in the depths of the sea! The pearls and jewels hidden in the mind of man are the knowledge, virtues, capabilities, etc. These pearls can grow and increase in lustre forever. These waves from our minds go forth and create movement and thought in other minds. From one strong thought of love what great results may be produced.”
WITH OUR EARS still ringing from the echoes of a vigorously contested Presidential campaign—with our President—elect freely conversant with world affairs, possessed by sincere heart-interest in the combined and individual progress of an evolving humankind, prompted by faith in the wisdom of a Supreme Creative Intelligence—with such a
National Leader yearning to establish a permanent peace between the nations of the earth, goodwill and prosperity amongst the sons of men—one stops to wonder at the significant part that America may play in the history of the future.
The unprecedented “Goodwill Trip” of Herbert Hoover, with his magical blend of sound judgment, sentiment and purpose, gives hopeful promise of interesting results from the most ideal kind of living—constructive thought in action.
The following interview of Miss Martha Boot with Mr. Rustum Vambery recalls the deep friendship which existed between his father and ’Abdu’l-Bahà. Prof. Vambery, Sr., one of the great scholars of the last generation in Europe, an authority on Oriental civilization, in the course of his study of religions gained a first hand information and experience by actually joining, as a follower, the different religions. In the religion of the Bahà’is he found at last the perfect religion. In a letter which he addressed to ’Abdu’l-Bahà, he expressed among other things, this significant thought: “Every person is forced by necessity to enlist himself on the side of your excellency and accept with joy the prospect of a fundamental basis for a universal religion of God being laid through your efforts . . . . I am hoping that the ideals and accomplishments of your excellency may be crowned with success and yield results under all conditions; because behind these ideals and deeds I easily discern the eternal welfare and prosperity of the world of humanity.”—Editor.
MR. Rustum Vambery of Budapest, Editor of one of the leading magazines of Hungary, is a man of the New Day. He is trying to work for national and international cooperation.
Having tea with Mr. and Mrs. Vambery in their charming home on the heights of Buda Hill over-looking the beautiful Danube, in the very center of Budapest, I asked Mr. Vambery to tell me about the meeting of his father, the late Armenius Vambery, and of himself, with ’Abdu’l-Bahá in 1913.
Mr. Vambery searched through a package of his father’s letters, and there in the parcel of letters
from the Prince of Wales, Sir Henry Irving, Roland Bonaparte, and Lord Curzon, was the letter which ’Abdu’l-Bahá had written to his father, Armenius Vambery.
“I first met ’Abdu’l-Bahá,” my host remarked, “in my father’s home, situated on the Pest Side of the Danube at 27 Francis Joseph Quai. Father later explained to me much about the Bahá’i Movement. It struck me then, just as it does now, that the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh met the actual need of this day. Our different European religions—Christian—are based on a more primitive idea of mankind than has developed in modern times. Our religion is based on the individual
struggle for life, whereas the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is based on co-operation and mutual aid of man which is the leading idea of modern civilization. Therefore, Bahá’ism is a religious equivalent of the structure of modern society. It agrees with the thoughts of modern Europeans. What we are striving for,—you may call it love, peace,—all the same it is the co-operation of man. This our aim is expressed in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, expounded and lived by ’Abdu’l-Bahá. This is what struck me so forcibly. More or less we are unbelievers in Europe.”
Mrs. Vambery said all the different Christian creeds which ruled Europe for centuries and centuries had been unable to attain this end of co-operation,—to convince people to love each other instead of fighting each other. Mr. Vambery said: “For my part I consider it in a symbolic way as a solvent, this Bahá’ism, which will unite all mankind regardless of races and classes. This was why my late father had such esteem for Bahá’ism. The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh were coincident with my father’s general view of the needs of the world, and because of this he was a great admirer of this Bahá’i Movement. I do not know whether you call it a religion, it depends on what you mean by a religion.”
Then Mr. Vembery went on to speak of the history of Hungary
and her present situation, but one feels that Hungary may become a centre of peace. Suffering nations and suffering men have high ideals. Other leaders, too, felt this for they said that Hungary is peculiarly fitted to unite the East and the West.
Mr. Vambery stated that Hungarians were very devoted to grand ideals, and that the soul of Hungary is noble and tolerant. From the conversation with Mr. Vambery, with members of the Peace Societies and many other thinkers of Hungary, the writer felt that the Bahá’i Movement could develop there very rapidly. The peasants of Hungary are very tolerant. Hungary was the first country to forbid sorcery and to have a law as far back as the twelfth century against burning or massacreing people for religious sorcery. The tolerant Hungarian nation, it is said, was the first in the nineteenth century to receive the Jews and give them equal rights. It was one of the first countries on the Continent to abolish the slavery of peasants, and to give peasants freedom to go to other countries.
Mr. Vambery, has placed his father’s books in Persian, Arabic and English, upon the Bahá’i Movement in the Library at Budapest, and like his father he has written fairly and discerningly upon the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh for this universal age.
“Praise be to God that in this wonderful cycle the laws of God are not confined within any limitations . . . He hath commanded all the friends to show love, friendship, amity and kindness to all the people of the world.—’Abdu'l-Bahá.
WHAT is going to happen? A year from now where will I be? Ten years? What will the world be like twenty-fifty years from now?
Speculation as to the future, immediate and remote, has ever been one of the most absorbing conjectures of the human mind. This interest is evidenced in our proclivity to consult oracles and soothsayers, to study the prophecies of the Books.
Never before in the history of civilization have there been so many apparently sincere attempts to understand the effects and trends of life, to study existing evils and to penetrate the fog of the future. A great deal of this thought is rather unique in that it is more or less detached from the mania of applied reform. Reformers there are, of course, but when the modern scientist endeavors to analyze situations, as many are doing either for fun, pleasure or profit, he seems inclined to do so ruthlessly, often making no attempt to suggest remedies. He copies a trick from the modern playwright and leaves the situation dramatically suspended.
The attitude is—here are the conditions which exist, there are those which will probably result in the future, now what are you, gentle reader, going to do about it?
Many of these treatises may be extremely disturbing and confusing to those who enjoy complacency. Just what we are going to do about it all is not very clear.
Progress: Accelerated progress
seems to be the avowed purpose of the times. But “progress” in the abstract means little. To define progress adequately the aim to be achieved must be specified. To what end are we so energetically striving?
The scientist answers—understanding of nature’s laws; the industrialist answers—greater production; the commercialist answers—more business; the eugenist—a better race; the medical profession visions improvement in health; the educator—knowledge; the philosopher—wisdom; the analyst—intelligence; the average man—something compounded out of all these elements and others which will bring happiness!
Suppose all these ends achieved. Would humanity be happy? Happiness has recently been defined quite aptly as a continuous succession of “great moments.”
What are great moments but flashes of spiritual exaltation?
Is there any basis for supposing that the accomplishment of these ends alone would insure even a pre-ponderance of instants of spiritual exaltation?
Spiritual manifestations and effects arise from spiritual causes and values, and in the recital of the meaning of progress are not many failing to include or take due account of the basic, fundamental, all-encompassing power—spirituality and all that it may imply?
Is not spiritual value the catalyist which makes progress in any phase of human endeavor possible?
Nay, more—is it not the cause, defined or undefined, recognized or unrecognized, of advancement?
It is that which defines our relationship in every act of life, here and hereafter, to the Great Purpose, and as such how can consideration of Spiritual Value be omitted justifiably from any study of the trend of progress and civilization?
Any analysis which does not take spiritual matters into account is but a surface survey, however interesting and logical it may be, with particular reference to intelligence.
Intellect is one of the manifestations of the Spirit.
’Abdu’l-Bahà has said in “Divine Philosophy” (page 117) that—“There is, however, a faculty in man which unfolds to his vision the secrets of existence. It gives him a power whereby he may investigate the reality of every object. It leads man on and on to the luminous station of divine sublimity and frees him from all the fetters of self, causing him to ascend to the pure heaven of sanctity. This is the power of the mind, for the soul is not, of itself, capable of unrolling the mysteries of phenomena; but the mind can accomplish this and therefore it is a power superior to the soul.”
In “Some Answered Questions” ’Abdu’l-Bahà teaches,—“But the mind is the power of the human spirit (the rational soul or human spirit which distinguishes man from the animal) Spirit is the lamp; mind is the light which shines from the lamp. Spirit is the tree, and the mind is the fruit. Mind is the perfection of the spirit, and is its essential quality, as the sun’s rays
are the essential necessity of the sun.”
He points out that there is a center of intellection in the human organism which is the discoverer of things. This power can understand something of the phenomena of nature and the mysteries. It is not dependent upon the senses but can comprehend that which it is possible to know. It is evidenced in all the inventions for they were at one time concealed. All the sciences are useful because of this power and the arts are an expression of it.
These matters prove that man is possessed of two realities, one of the senses and another which is “conscious and ideal in character.” He calls this the collective reality and shows that it is not of the elemental substances—but it is real, and eternal.
In another place ’Abdu’l-Bahà refers to Christ’s words “That which is born of the spirit is spirit.” The spirit of man must be born out of the matrix of naturalism, out of the baser order just as our bodies come from the matrix of the mother in order that we may be able to understand the great things of God’s kingdom. This collective reality is the spirit of man.
This is essential knowledge upon which we may predicate any study of present conditions or possibilities in the future. ’Abdu’l-Bahá defines intelligence and specifies its relationship to the human spirit or rational soul. "With a few masterful words He recites the meaning of civilization. He bids us approach the unknown future with confidence and faith.
WITH SUCH A background, we may
face the prophecies and concerns for the future as voiced by Professor Walter B. Pitkin of Columbia University in his “Twilight of the American Mind” with equanimity and interest.
Prof. Pitkin is concerned primarily with the probable effects on the “Best minds” (approximately 1% of the population who pass intelligence tests with an Intelligence Quotient of at least 130).
Conditions are changing rapidly in many departments of life and these, he believes, indicate certain distinct trends from which it is possible to judge the opportunities which will exist in the next forty or fifty years.
The eugenists cry for superior beings. The more the better. The higher the general level of intelligence the more nearly will humanity approach the ultimate in living. Prof. Pitkin is not at all sure that such a situation would be an unalloyed blessing, for he is unable to find sufficient suitable employment indicated for as many Best Minds as there are likely to be even without the intensive application of the desired program offered by the extreme eugenists. He thinks that when any person is forced to work day in and day out in a job that does not fulfill his needs or when he has to do work for which he is not suited or which is too difficult for him, the resultant maladjustment is a source of many and great ills.
We have been passing through what analysts are pleased to call the Industrial Revolution, wherein man power is being largely supplemented by the machine. It is now suggested that the last phases of
this great transformation are on us in the form of an Agrarian Revolution in which the farmers will revolt against their economic straits and that the future of agriculture will take one of two courses; either it will retrograde to the status of a peasant occupation as on the Continent or it will be established on a business basis through the application of scientific and commercial knowledge. These possibilities are laden with social problems.
Professor Pitkin believes that several underlying corollaries are characteristic of our present endeavors.
“Give as much work as possible to machines and to system. Give as little as possible to men.”
“Never give to any man work which another man of less ability can do equally well, so far as the finished product is concerned.”
“A man who finds no adequate outlet for his strongest capacities and for his special abilities is blocked, thwarted and eventually upset. He may become neurotic or simply apathetic or savagely rebellious. And he causes trouble to himself and to others until he is set right.” Such are the sources of discontent. They may be more intensive as hazards in the future.
This then is his picture. Improving the human race is a worthy end but if there are too many Best Minds—they will not find suitable employment and a vast amount of maladjustment, discontent and attendant evils will result.
The whole tendency of industry and commercial enterprise is toward consolidation which will require fewer and fewer best minds even though affairs be better administered
as regards the whole race.
Changes due to machine application will be overshadowed by agricultural problems.
He concludes with—
“Better a world less good and busier. Better a sea of troubles than a desert of ease. Better the burning dust of tired noons than the Twilight of the Best Minds. But who shall deliver them? And how?”
It is an intriguing, disturbing discussion—one which raises grave conjectures as to the future of those endowed with a certain degree of intelligence. The wonder is that in so keen a study of contributing factors, basic spiritual factors have not been considered.
But—is intelligence in itself so all important? ’Abdu’l-Bahá has defined it for us. Why has not more attention been paid to the “Spiritual Quotient” rather than to the Intelligence Quotient, for mind is but the light which shines from the lamp of the spirit. It is but the fruit of the tree of the spirit. It is but an essential quality of the spirit as the sun’s rays are the essential necessity of the sun. Spirit is the all-important essential.
Man is endowed with three powers; the soul, the mind and the spirit.
’Abdu’l-Bahá says—“When we speak of the soul we mean the motive power of this physical body which lives under its entire control in accordance with its dictates. If the soul identifies itself with the material world it remains dark . . . . . . but if it becomes the recipient of the graces of the world of mind, its darkness will be transformed
into light, its tyranny into justice, its ignorance into wisdom, its aggression into loving kindness, until it reaches the apex. There will not remain any struggle for existence. Man will become free from egotism; he will be released from the material world. . . ”
Thus if the souls of the Best Minds of the future become recipients of the graces of the world of mind—need they have any fear? And if those of us who may not be scientifically rated as Best Minds strive to receive the same graces may we not also receive the light and accomplish that which will be in conformity with the Great Purpose? Each one has his station and work to do and while all are not equal as regards intelligence and endowments—all are equal spiritually and essentially before God. My humble accomplishments achieved in sincerity score just as high spiritually as the greater re-results attained by some really great person.
Thus in the words of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, have the soul and mind been defined and correlated.
But there is still another power which is different from that of the soul and that of the mind.
“This third power is the spirit which is an emanation from the Divine Bestower; it is the effulgence of the sun of reality, the radiation of the celestial world, the spirit of faith, the spirit His Holiness the Christ refers to when He says-‘Those that are born of the flesh are flesh, and those that are born of the spirit are spirit.’ The spirit is the axis round which the eternal life revolves. It is conducive to ever-lasting glory and is the cause of
the exaltation of humanity.”
There we have the crux of the matter! Happiness was defined as a succession of exalted moments. These exalted moments are those of a spiritual exaltation. The spirit is the cause of the exaltation of humanity!
Man endowed with the triple powers of soul (or human spirit-that which differentiates him from the animal and governs his body); the mind or intelligence (that which allows him to discover realities); and the spirit (which is an emanation from the Divine Bestower—the spirit of faith) is he not amply qualified to face the future and its enigmas with confidence?
But ’Abdu’l-Bahà says in “Answered Questions, “that the human spirit (or soul) unless assisted by the spirit of faith, does not learn of the divine secrets and heavenly realities. “It is like a mirror which, although clear, polished, and brilliant, is still in need of light.”
And so, however important intelligence may be, we must turn the mirrors of our beings towards the source of light, we must attain the spirit of faith—then will our intelligencies be illumined, then will we realize the subtle connection of the creature and Creator, then will the perplexities of the future of civilization be possible of solution, then will we attack these problems with confidence and certainty, then will we synchronize our endeavors with the forces of the Great Purpose.
Is IT OF MUCH ultimate importance that we concern ourselves
with what we are going to do about suitable employment for our Best Minds fifty years from now as what we are going to do today to assist the many to attain “the spirit of faith” which will allow the mirrors of beings to become recipients of the graces of the Teachings of God? For if they are so illumined, if our spiritual lives are set aright—the well being of our souls and minds will follow automatically by virtue of their inherent dependencies.
“The dissemination of high thoughts is the motive power in the arteries of this transitory world; yea, it is the soul of all peoples. Thoughts are infinite as the sea, and the ways and manners of life are like embankments and dykes against the waves; and not until the sea moves do the waves rise up and cast on shore the pearls of wisdom.”
Not until the infinite sea of thought moves will the ways of manners and life yield and the pearls of wisdom be attainable.
How to move the sea of thought—that is the question. And the answer is—obedience. Obedience to the commands of God through His Manifestations. Obedience here and now, in small things and great. Unquestioning obedience, Dynamic, active obedience—for action is essential to accomplishment. The sea of thought must be induced to move. Then will mind function in conformity to the Great Purpose. Then will progress be real and wholly contributory to the complete well being of all the servants of God.
The following article presents to us the interesting outlook and information of a native Persian who feels deeply the need of at liberated womanhood for his country. He discusses here in the quaint style of an acquired language, the progress which his country is making in Feminism under the impulse of the Bahá’i Movement.—Editor.
ALTHOUGH the Bahá’i religion was revealed about eighty-four years ago in Persia, its principles and tenets are not only confined to the needs of that country, but are universal, and considered to be the Spirit of this Age. ’Abdu’l-Bahá says, “The Bahá’i Revelation is the essence of all the highest ideals of this century.” Therefore, the principles of this divine religion are applicable to all communities, nations and countries of the world, and they constitute the Remedy for the treatment of all the social diseases as well as individual disabilities.
Being a Persian student, and therefore better informed of the conditions in my country, (Persia), than elsewhere, I am in a position to apply the Bahá’i teachings to the necessities of my own national environment. But let it not be thought that these principles are applicable only to Persia. They are in truth for the welfare of the entire world.
In this short article, it will not be possible to adequately present all of the Bahá’i Principles, so I will attempt to discuss only one of them and apply it to the situation of Persia, the land where His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh appeared in this Glorious Age and called for the unification of the world of humanity.
Those who are acquainted with
history, know well that Persia was one of the most powerful and progressive nations in the world. But sad to say in the last few centuries that grandeur declined and that Great Empire was reduced to a decadent stage or condition. Of course there were many reasons for this retrogression, but I believe that one of the most outstanding contributory causes was and is the degradation brought about in the position of women and their social status.
The word degradation is aptly used, for let it be understood that once women occupied a very high position in Persia, and that no other nation in the world at that time had such a respect and splendid attitude toward women. The best proof of this fact is that three Empresses,—Irandokht, Iranzad, and Homa, ruled over that country for a few years, when in all other civilized contemporaneous countries of the world the female sex was regarded as inferior to the male. Having this high esteem for motherhood in mind, one can easily conclude why Persians were at that time considered the most refined and honest people. It is for this reason that I am inclined to call the Glorious Age of Persia the period of womanhood.
Now we are in a position to diagnose the real cause of this decline and retrogression. When the Arabs conquered Persia and introduced
the veil and other customs into that country, women began to lose their privileges, and as a result the race retrograded and the nation consequently suffered. It is my belief that the conditions will grow worse and worse daily, if again women are not restored to their previous high position, and if men fail to understand and appreciate the real significance of womanhood.
ABOUT three-quarters of a century ago, when Persia was in its darkest period of ignorance and superstitution, the Bahá’i Revelation proposed the absolute equality of the sexes by declaring that humanity is like a bird having two wings-one male and the other female. Of course a bird with a broken wing cannot fly. At that particular period women suffered because of a degraded social position not only in Persia, but in most other countries of the world.
It was in such a dark period for womanhood that Bahá’u’lláh, addressing the people of the world, revealed the following significant instruction in the Book of Aqdas (Book of Laws):
“The first obligation of all the Bahá’is is to strive by all means to bring up and instruct their children, male or female. The girls are like the boys—there is no difference. Ignorance in both is censured, and in both stupidity is hateful. In reality look with the eye of truth: the education and instruction of the girls is more useful than that of boys, for in time these girls will become the Mothers. The first educator of the child,—is she not the
Mother? Children are like green and tender branches,—as they are cultivated they grow and develop. If the training is right, they grow straight; and if it is wrong they grow crooked and until the end of their lives they advance upon the same path. It is thus proven that if girls without education or instruction and training become Mothers, they are responsible for this loss, this ignorance, this stupidity, this lack of education of many children. Strive then with all your souls to train and educate all children, above all your daughters. On this point no excuse can be accepted. In the Divine Book of this cycle, instruction and education are not optional, they are obligatory.”
As Baha’u’llah emphasizes in His sacred writings, the education of the mother is the most essential factor in the continuance of the race. But unfortunately this important fact was neglected at that time in almost all countries, especially in Persia. So we can clearly see the reason and the main reason why that nation, formerly progressive, became classified with the backward nations. Not only has this ignorance of the women paralyzed the nation, but it has kept one-half of the population inactive. The other half, also due to improper and inadequate primary education received from their mothers, can accomplish but very little.
Great good has resulted in other parts of the world from the participation of women in the social and political readjustment of those countries where suffrage is
granted to them. In the last fifteen years about two hundred million women in more than thirty-five countries have obtained their natural rights to participate in the welfare of their respective communities. But the Persian women have not yet obtained suffrage.
In a Tablet (or letter) addressed to an American lady, ’Abdu’l-Bahá said: “In this Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh the women advance shoulder to shoulder with the men. In no Movement will they be left behind. They will enter all the administrative branches of politics. They will attain in all such a degree which will be considered the very highest station of the world of humanity and will take part in all the affairs. At the time of elections, the right to vote is the inalienable right of women and the entrance of women in all the human departments is an irrefutable and incontrovertible question. No soul can retard or prevent it.”
As the significance of the above passage is understood, one realizes that every other step taken for the social and national welfare of Persia, so long as the women are kept in seclusion and their natural rights denied them, will be of no substantial value and will be a failure in the end. Women must have equal rights and a voice in politics as well as all legislative and administrative powers. In the countries where women are taking part in the affairs of government, many useful laws have been proposed by them and adopted, such as prohibition, protection of children, better educational systems, pure food laws, proper sanitation, etc.
In a country where the most ignorant and primitive man who does not understand what it means to vote, nor what constitutional government requires,—has full suffrage,—and the most educated and refined lady is deprived of that right,—can you think of any hope or salvation for that land? It seems that in such a country men do not believe that women are created equal to them, and that they have the same mental capacity and intuition. Therefore the only remedy is to follow what ’Abdu’l-Bahá says in regard to the high qualities of women, her capacity, and what her destiny is in the future.
“The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both of body and mind, says Prof. Stanwood Cobb, “but the scales are already shifting, force is losing its weight and mental alertness, intuition and the spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendency. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals, or, to speak more exactly, it will be an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more properly balanced.“
The future of Persia, as well as every other country, depends upon the part women play in it. As the potter can mould the earth into every shape which he pleases, so the women of Persia can help determine the fate and destiny of that country.
Now that we understand the indispensable need of Persia for this important Bahá’i Principle, (equality of men and women), let us see what the Bahá’is of that country have already accomplished under the influence and instruction of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings in such a short time.
I think almost everybody has heard something about the remarkable life of Qurratu’l-’Ayn, who lived about eighty-four years ago in the darkest and most corrupt period of womanhood in Persia when the Light of the Bahái Revelation just appeared from the horizon to illuminate the world of humanity. Under the influence of the Teachings of this New Manifestation she threw away the veil, which was considered to be the most unpardonable sin, and asked openly for the emancipation of her country-women who were deprived of all rights. The life of this wonderful woman and remarkable personality is so inspiring that I recommend it to everybody for study and contemplation. Let it suffice to mention here what ’Abdu’l-Bahá says of this heroine of the nineteenth century:
“Among the women of our own time is Qurratu’l-’Ayn, the daughter of a Muhammadan priest. At the time of the appearance of the Báb (who was the Forerunner and Herald of Bahá’u’lláh), she showed such tremendous courage and power that all who heard her were astonished. She threw aside her veil, despite the immemorial custom of the Persians, and although it was considered impolite to speak to men, this heroic woman carried on discussions with the most learned men, and in every meeting she vanquished
them. When imprisoned she said, “You can kill me as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipatiom of women.”
One can appreciate better the high ideals of this Persian poetess (Qurratu’l-’Ayn) by observing that the Feminist Movement in Europe and America at that time was very weak and unimportant, and that it was only a few years ago, in 1918, when in one of the most progressive countries of the world, England, the women were granted suffrage.
As the inspired heroine prophesied when she was going to be killed it was impossible to stop the emancipation of women; despite all the restrictions and obstacles, the Bahá’i women in Persia day by day progressed, so that now they receive the same education as Bahá’i men, and have the same right to vote for the election of the Bahá’i Spiritual Assemblies. In every small village or town where there are a few Bahá’i families they have established the first schools in that city for girls, and have organized Pregressive Assemblies for women. The best Girl’s Schools in Persia are those maintained by the Bahá’ís. Recently some government and national schools for girls have been established. If it were not for the restrictions and obstacles which are in the path of Bahá’i women they would have progressed by now a hundred times more than what they have already accomplished.
In conclusion let us recognize that it has been proven that the only salvation for Persia is to accept the high station of women as proclaimed in the Bahá’i Teachings. The work accomplished by the
Bahá’is there is itself a strong evidence that supports the above statement. It makes one understand and see clearly that in a few years when the number of Bahá’is in that land increases, a true and divine
civilization will be established to go hand in hand with material advancement, and then what Bahá’u’lláh has promised about the brilliant future of Persia will come true.
The Moving Picture is circling the world. Its universal aspects and spirit are inevitable. Yet its more serious possibilities have hardly been considered or little developed. Now with the voice added to the pictures on the screen is created a magnificent vehicle for the spread of beneficent ideas which shall aid the world’s progress. Of such possibility J. H. Denison in his, “Emotion as the Basis of Civilization,” says: “The time is not far off when the whole civilized world will be one great assembly where the voice of any great man can be heard, and where all mankind can be aroused to enthusiasm for a purpose of world importance.” The author of the following article inspiringly comments on the tremendous part the cinema can play in modern civilization.—Editor.
“Art is worship. The drama is of the utmost importance. It has been a great educational power in the past; it will be so again.”
IN no place in the world is the moving picture industry as insistently forced upon the minds of the people who constitute its community as it is in Hollywood. Surrounded by studios on every side, with some in the very heart of this center; the “Stars” as well as the “extras” of the films daily walking our streets in costume and screen make-up as they go at the noon hour for their luncheons; the traffic held up often on one of our principal boulevards or business streets while the camera-man grinds out many feet of film in taking a ”street scene” for some picture soon to be produced, the announcers on the many sight-seeing busses calling out in ponderous tones through their
megaphones the places of interest as they pass; here “the home of one of the most famous moving-picture Stars”; and there “one of the largest studios.” All these daily events happening until one who lives in this atmosphere of “make-believe” begins to feel that he, too, lives and moves and has his physical being in “Movieland” with its shadow pictures of life, and a true sense of proportion and the real value of this great industry is lost.
The laws of life which govern man are great impersonal forces which can be used constructively or destructively as man wills; thus the greatest blessing may be turned into the greatest curse. The wire which carries the electric power and light into the home, may also become an instrument of death as well.
One of the greatest blessings to humanity in this enlightened age is
the moving picture. If it be true that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” then it is also true that the moving picture is mightier than the pen. Through this marvelous invention humanity at large is being educated along all lines. Pictures are the universal language of the world which every race and nation can understand.
As the power of the cinema for constructive enlightenment is unlimited, so in the same ratio is its power of demoralization. God has placed in the hands of man through this channel a means of universal good, or the opposite. It is in reality a sacred trust. It is a missionary of the gospel of light, or enlightenment, and should be held to its high calling.
What one sees is recorded upon the records of memory much longer than what one hears, and the psychological effect is far more lasting; because of this the responsibility of a Producer of moving pictures is doubly great.
Suggesting that the motion picture could be a mighty factor in helping to establish arms limitation and eventually universal peace, Watterson R. Rothacker, head of the Rothacker enterprise, sometime ago in an open letter to American Picture Directors wrote in part:
“From an American statesman has come a proposal which may mean the starting point of World Peace. From an American Motion Picture Director can there not come a picture which will make World Peace a fact?
“Diplomats alone cannot bring about universal peace, because there will always be certain interests capable of thwarting diplomats.
Only the peoples of the world can limit the size and uses of armed forces. War will be ended only when the people acting collectively demand it.
“Is there not an American Director who speaking the universal language of motion pictures, can sell the people of the earth the idea of world peace? No mere propaganda picture will do it. It will have to be a bigger picture than any made thus far. But the man who succeeds in making such a picture will go down in history as one of the immortals.”
The moving picture industry is in need of a Joshua who will arise with a vision clear enough, moral courage strong enough, and willingness to sacrifice the commercial interest for the good of humanity great enough, to lead those connected with it out of the wilderness of the sensual and material, into the “promised-land” of the Good, the True and the Beautiful.
The public, in a great measure, has grown weary of feeding upon husks, it wants that which will not only entertain and relax, but will feed its spiritual hunger as well, that which will elevate and inspire to nobler thoughts and deeds.
As the motion picture is the chief weapon of warfare against ignorance and superstition, so is it the chief exemplar of that which is highest and best in the nature of man.
We hear so often,—“but the public demands that we give it, by way of photoplays, that which deals with the sensual, the nude, the sensational and the morbid, and we are but the servants of the public,”-as having been stated by some of
our producers and distributors of such creations. This may be true of a small percentage of the public, but not so of the majority who often remain away from the motion picture theatres because of the general class of pictures exhibited. ‘What if there are those “who demand” the above mentioned class, does the Government lower its standards of temperance, because there are those who still demand liquor and narcotics?
The intemperance of low passions, animal lust and seduction, and the narcotic of sensual luxury which are introduced into many of the so called “great photoplays” of the day are equally deadly and destructive to the moral nature of man. Raise the standard of pictures and the best of our American people will attend the theatres and in time the others will be educated up to this higher, purer, ideal.
It is true that here and there appears a worth while picture, soul refreshing as well as entertaining, which flashes as a brilliant star upon the horizon of the night of the commonplace. There are comedies which are as wholesome as the breath of a June day. But the majority of photoplays are either “flat, stale and unprofitable,” or unfit for our young girls and boys to see.
Again if it is true that the purpose of many unwholesome pictures is to “point a moral,” the end does not justify the means. It is
like writing the wrong way of doing an example upon the black-board to impress upon the mind of a student that “this is the way you must not do it. Mental confusion is the general outcome of such a method.
As Carnegie donated vast sums of money to establish libraries in America to further education, is there not some one with the same noble ideals in this Great America who will through endowment produce picture libraries for international use? Truly the one so inspired will be a universal benefactor. If a small part of the money spent for war, and implements of war, could be invested in this way, the peoples of the earth would “learn war no more” for the ideals and benefits of peace would be visualized and better understood by all nations.
Greater than educational institutes, greater than lectures or sermons today is the motion picture, for its influence is universal and its message encircles the world.
Perhaps it is fear of commercial loss that is clogging the wheels of progress in this great industry at the present time, therefore the “Joshua” needed must dare to take the initiative and holding fast to the vision, press forward to higher and nobler things.
Truly the Producer or Director, who can accomplish this, will, as Watterson Rothacker has foretold—“go down in history as one of the immortals.”
This is the first of a series of articles on Mysticism by one who has made a profound study of this subject. The series will dwell particularly on Jewish mysticism, a field relatively unknown to even those interested in the general subject of religion. The writer deals with the subject as a theme to give inspiration rather than a mere historical treatment.—Editor.
THE simplest definition of mysticism is union of the soul with God. The door through which the soul passes to this type of union is contemplation; and the condition, ecstatic love. (A state of being in love with the Absolute). The genius of the mystic consists in being able to penetrate through the outer to the inner consciousness,–we might almost say in a remembrance of the Creator. That remembrance to which Bahá’u’lláh referred in the Hidden Words: “O My Friends, have you forgotten that true, bright morn when ye were all in My Presence on that blessed plain, under the shadow of the Tree of Life?” The visions of the mystics clothed in symbols of this plain recall this primal experience.
To the mystic, love is the melting and fusing of the personal will into the Will of God. “He is only thoroughly natural, thoroughly alive, when obeying its voice. For him it is the source of joy, the secret of the universe, the vivifying principle underlying all things.”
The invitation of the mystic life is to come and see; the promise of the mystic life is the attainment of a vision of glory.
The mystic state of contemplation is not, as the word suggests, passivity. Over and over again, the great mystics describe their visions in terms of activity. Their favorite
symbols for this state of being are action, battle, search and pilgrimage. In describing a certain vision, St. John of the Cross says, “I went, none seeing me, forth from my house, when all things were quiet.” St. Mathilde writes, “I saw the vision with the eyes of my soul, I heard it with the ears of my spirit, and what I set down was seen, heard, and experienced in every limb.”
One of the great values of mysticism is that it lies outside the realms of controversy. All Mystics, whether they be Hindoo, Jew, Christian, or Muslim describe the same vision, the same love, the same light and radiance associated with their approach to God. My stoics soar above theology, and from their writings, except for the symbols used, it would be impossible to determine under which Prophet they had been reared. “Come down quickly,” says the Incomprehensible Godhead to the soul that had struggled to the topmost branches of the theological tree. “Come down, for I would dwell with thee.“ In this swift descent demanded by God, love leads the intellect down and away from all it has learned since it left the throne of God.
A Muslim saint, Jelu, exclaims, “Love alone can make that which is heavy light, and bears evenly that which is uneven.” And St. Francis says, “Love being born of
God, is alone joyous.” Love in this sense loses all self-consciousness, it gives all but is unaware of its giving, asks no reward save the Giver of Gifts, is not satisfied with the attributes of the Beloved, but is ever searching for the Beloved Himself.
Bahá’u’lláh says, in “The Seven Valleys”—“The true lover knows neither knowledge nor ignorance, neither doubt nor certainty, neither does he recognize the morn of guidance nor the eve of error.”
There is in the words of all mystics, an intensity, a positivity, a virility which appears paradoxical when one realizes that their action takes place behind the door of contemplation. When St. John says that he went forth from his house “no one seeing” him, he was probably sitting in his choir stall surrounded by the brothers of his community. We may, therefore, infer that on the other side of passivity and contemplation lies a type of activity with which we are not familiar, one belonging to the soul and functioning independently of the mind as well as of the body.
The difference between magic and mysticism is not easily distinguishable. There is, however, one infallible rule concerning them: Magic wills to obtain, mysticism wills to give. Through all ages man has struggled for the possession of occult knowledge. The Prophets point out the way to wrest secrets from the universe. Christ says to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all else will be added. And ’Abdu’l-Bahá says, in The Illuminati, “If the faculty of meditation is bathed in the Inner Light and characterized with divine attributes,
the results will be confirmed.”
Bar Jesus was able to perform all the miracles of the Christian apostles, but when Paul, filled with the divine spirit, began to heal, Bar Jesus was stricken blind and withered away. This example is symbolic of the temporary quality of the personal will, as against the eternal quality of the Divine Will.
Magicians are usually deeply rooted in ritual, in high authority, and like to be considered the origin of the miraculous; the people of God are exactly the reverse. One cannot imagine St. Francis taking any part in an Inquisition. His inner urge was to praise God, and if man would not join with him, unperturbed, he would invite the beasts, and, if the forest was bare, he would address the birds. In like manner, a story is told of a Sufi mystic who owned but a single needle with which to repair his clothes. One day while crossing a narrow foot-bridge, it dropped from his mantle. The saint accepted its loss, believing that henceforth it was better for him to mend his clothes without a needle. While he was engaged in praising God for bringing about this sacrifice, he perceived an immense commotion in the river and saw a thousand shining scales hurrying towards the bank, bearing the needle on their backs.
The mystic experience is not without creative expression. ’Abdu’l-Bahá says: “This faculty brings forth the sciences and arts from the invisible plane.”
Evelyn Underhill, in her book Mysticism, says: “Symbol—the clothing which the spiritual borrows from the material plane—is a form
of artistic expression. That is to say, it is not literal but suggestive: though the artist who uses it may sometimes lose sight of this distinction.“
Mystics have appeared from time to time throughout the ages, but an intensive interpretation of the inner truths follows the Messenger of God. The Prophet leaves ajar the door of prayer and contemplation which connects this plane with
the higher worlds. We are, therefore, not surprised to discover that Jewish Mysticism came into being after Christ had walked the earth. From then until the end of the 14th Century, the Rabbinical Writings were set down and a school of mysticism was held in secret, guarded with such jealous care that it was not until the end of the 17th Century that these writings became known to European Christians.
From the account of ’Abdu’l-Baha’s daily activities and words while in America, furnished us by Dr. Zia, Bagdadi, we have here taken some of the most significant passages, for the most part never before published. Noteworthy in this number is a teaching on the solution of the economic problem.—Editor.
HE who is interested in the economic problem and its future solution, let him study the following from a Tablet (or letter) written by ’Abdu’l-Bahá to Mrs. A. S. Parsons, of Washington, D. C.
“The solution of the economic problem should begin with the farmer and then all other classes. For the number of farmers compared with other classes is more than double. Therefore, it is only proper to begin with the farmer who is the first real worker in society.
“A group of efficient people or a committee should be elected and the whole village be under its management. Also, a general Storehouse should be established, and a secretary appointed. At the time of harvest, a certain percentage of all crops must be given to the general
storehouse, under the supervision of the committee. This storehouse should have seven revenues or incomes: (1) Income taxes. (2) Taxes on animals. (3) Property or anything left without an heir. (4) Lost and found, that is, things found and unclaimed. (5) One third of all treasures or things dug out and excavated from the earth, must go to this Storehouse. (6) One third of all the mines must go to the Storehouse. (7) Voluntary contributions.
“In short, the Storehouse should also have seven expenses, as follows: (1) An appropriation to pay the expenses of the Storehouse itself, and for public health. (2) To pay one tenth of the storehouse income as government taxes. (3) For government taxes on animals. (4) A home for the orphans. (5) a home for the aged. (6) Schools.
(7) For the support of the poor.
“As to the first, the income tax must be collected in the following manner, for example: When all the income of a person amounts to $500.00 and his necessary expenses amount to $500.00, he should be exempt from paying taxes. Another person whose expenses amount to $500.00, but his income is $1,000.00, should pay one tenth of his income for taxes, because he has more than he needs for his living and can afford to pay one tenth of his income without trouble. Another person whose expenses are $1,000.00 and his income, $5,000.00, should give one and a half tenths of his income, because he has more than he needs. Another person whose necessary expenses are $1,000.00, and his income is $10,000.00, should give two-tenths, because he also has more than what he needs. Another person whose expenses are $4,000.00 or $5,000.00 and his income is $100,000.00, should give one-fourth. Another person, whose income is $200.00, and his actual needs, just to exist on, amount to $500.00, who does his best in his work, but has had poor luck with his crops, such a person should receive help from the storehouse, that he may not starve, but have a decent living.”
“In every village the necessary means of support for all the orphans must be appropriated from the storehouse. Also for the aged, the helpless, the umemployed, education, public health—for all these, appropriations must be made from the storehouse.”
“In case there is a surplus (in a storehouse) it should be turned over to the National Treasury for
national expenditures. ”
“By adopting such a system, every individual in society would live in the utmost comfort and happiness. The different degrees would remain secure and undisturbed. Because the difference in degrees are of the essential requirement for society. Society is like unto an army. For an army, a marshal is needed, a General is needed, a Commander is needed, a Captain is needed, and a private soldier is needed. It is impossible to have them all of one rank. The preservation of different ranks or degrees is necessary. But every private soldier must live in the utmost ease and comfort. Likewise, for every city, a judge is needed, a merchant is needed, the wealthy is needed, a tradesman is needed, a farmer is needed, etc. No doubt, these different ranks must be preserved, or else, the general law and order will be upset.”
QUESTION: “Will the ancient glory of the East ever return?”
’Abdu’l-Bahá: “The East will be better. How many great souls came to the world; how many of the wealthy; what kings sat on the thrones of honor and glory; what charming people were the models in the world’s pleasure circle! What was their end? All their glory, life, pleasure and vigor, have perished. But the song of the beauty of Joseph is still conquering the world, and the glory of the disciples is still enduring, and their hard labor is the cause of eternal life.”
QUESTION: “What is your opinion about the New Messiah of the Theosophists?“
’Abdu’l-Bahá: “The Theosophists are educating a child in European schools, that he may become the Promised One (Messiah) of all nations. What thoughtlessness this is! God must choose the Promised One, not the creatures. A lamp lighted by the creatures, will be extinguished; but the Lamp of God is ever shining. He who is educated by the creatures, will always be dependent upon the creatures. How can he bestow everlasting wealth? It is just as if a person wishes to make a sun out of a lamp, oil and wick.”
ON July 18th, 1912, ’Abdu’l-Bahá hinted that soon He expected to leave the city of New York, and from that moment, many of the believers wept as they felt the sting of His separation. Later, referring to the great spiritual souls who would appear among the believers, He said, “My health and the heaps of work are my obstacles, otherwise it could be possible to inspire certain extraordinary souls from amongst the friends, and not until such souls are developed can the original aim be achieved. At present, some have acquired zeal and capacity. But those who would be chosen, are other persons. Mulla Hassan and Abdu’l-llatif were sent by the Mujtahid (Persian High Priest) to Bahá’u-lláh in Mázindarán. As they saw Bahá’u’lláh, their souls became so inspired and vivified, that night and day, they did not have any rest for one moment, after suffering bitter persecution and ordeals, Mulla Abdu’l-llatif gave his life in the field of sacrifice, and ascended to the Abha Kingdom. Likewise, Sheikh Hindi
who was sightless, after meeting Bahá’u’lláh in Mázindarán, spent the whole night singing until morning. Such souls in the Cause of God must be of the elect. Such souls are qualified to be in the field of service and self-sacrifice.”
ON August 20, 1912, Mr. F. Mortensen of Chicago, formerly of Minneapolis and Montana arrived at Green Acre. Not having money to buy his railroad ticket, Mr. Mortensen chose to ride on the bumpers, between the wheels under the cars of the train, flirting with death, from Minneapolis to Green Acre. He mingled with the friends, and not a soul knew anything about him. But ’Abdu’l-Bahá picked him out at once and with utmost kindness, He said to him, “You are my guest here.” He kept him a few days and gave him money to go home happily. The outside world will never know how generous ’Abdu’l-Bahá was. Suffice it to say that every day of His life, whether in poverty-stricken Palestine, or in turbulent Syria and Egypt: in European countries or in rich America,—’Abdu’l-Bahá was ever-ready to give a helping hand to any one who went to Him for help. For one of His titles was, “the Father and Friend of the Poor.” Just imagine! Now comes a poor pilgrim who has to return to Persia or some other country, who has no money. Then there is the sick and the helpless. There comes the student seeking money for education. Here is a friend out of work, and there is another under a heavy debt. In short: He was the helper of all; and in order to do that, how many days would He deprive Himself
from even the necessary food and comfort, that other sufferers be relieved. Yes, He would even give away his garments to men who needed clothing. Moreover, God only knows, how many innocent prisoners were made free by Him. How many sons were returned to their lonely mothers after they were drafted for duty in Turkish battles. How many stolen properties were recovered and given back to their owners. How many have lived a happy life, and how many are still enjoying the blessings of His inexhaustible bounty. And all this was only a part of ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s work in this world.
SPEAKING of man’s heedlessness, ’Abdu’l-Bahá said, “As long as the Divine Manifestations are among the creatures, the people do not appreciate them. They curse and insult them. But after their departure, they worship them, and many of the people, like these who are now camping outside of Green Acre, would live a solitary life. Even they persecuted Columbus and some of the ancient doctors and philosophers, as Socrates; but later, they began to glory in their praise.”
A MINISTER from Portsmouth: “The fanatics are persecuting me because I write and preach on your teachings.”
Abdu’l-Bahá: “In every affair, firmness brings forth good results.”
A LADY: “I am unhappy today. I am not contented with myself.”
Abdu’l-Bahá: “This is the sign of progress. He who is contented with himself is a manifestation of
Satan, and, he who is not contented with himself, is a manifestation of the Merciful One. He who worships himself (selfish) can never progress, but he who finds faults in himself will try to perfect himself and will progress. If a person has one thousand good qualities, he must pay no attention to them, nay, rather he must try to find his own faults. For example: If a person owns a building, properly decorated and strongly built, but if there is a crack in one of its walls or ceiling, undoubtedly he must forget everything else and start to repair the crack. Moreover, absolute perfection is not possible for man. Therefore, no matter how much he progresses, still he remains imperfect and there is a higher degree of perfection than his. And whenever he looks at that higher degree, he cannot be contented with himself. That was why when someone called His Holiness Christ, ‘Good Master!’ He replied, ‘There is only One Good, that is God’.” The lady, “I always speak on unity and the brotherhood of man. I am very happy to see you in this country and hear these wonderful teachings. I am going west to spread this message.”
’Abdu’l-Bahá: “We must strive that hatred and opposition may pass away, and the souls may become free from the chains of superstitions. You must serve in this path and be the cause of unity of mankind.”
ON August 23, 1912, on his way to Malden, Abdu’l-Bahá stopped at the home of Miss Farmer to say good-bye. Many of the friends were present and it was a sad, sad hour. The most eloquent tongue
and the pen of the world’s best writer can never and will never be able to describe how happy the true believer was on meeting ’Abdu’l-Bahá, and, how sad he became on leaving Him. That is why whenever the hour of separation was at hand, you could see the eyes streaming with tears. “We have finished our work here,” said He. “We have planted a seed. Souls have become very much attracted and uplifted. Everyday I used to see presents, such as flowers, fruit, honey and candy, sent here by unknown friends. This was an evidence of their sincerity and whole-hearted faith.”
WE WISH TO mention here in regard to the ‘unfortunate event’ referred to in the article “’Abdu’l-Bahá in America” by Dr. Zia Bagdadi, which appeared in the October 1928 Star of the West, as occurring in Philadelphia,—that this event was in no way connected with ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s association and contact with the people of Philadelphia, but occurred in His own entourage. His visit to Philadelphia was most happy in every respect as regards His reception and experience in that city.
The dates given for the visit of ’Abdu’l-Bahá to Philadelphia in the October Star of the West were in error owing to an incompatibility in the translation of the Oriental calendar in which the Diary of Hirza Mahmood, who wrote the official account of ’Abdu’l-Bahà’s visit to America, was recorded. Upon investigation we find that the dates throughout this article as
given in the Western calendar, are one day off, and should have been as follows:
’Abdu’l-Bahá arrived in Philadelphia on the afternoon of Saturday, June 8th, 1912. He spoke in two prominent churches, the Baptist Temple and the Spring Garden Unitarian Church on Sunday, June 9tl1, and He spoke at the home of the Revells’ on Monday, June 10th and left for New York in the afternoon of June 10th, 1912.
’Abdu’l-Bahá was so pleased with the friends and the people, enjoyed the hospitality of the Revell family at their home and everything was so lovely that He Himself testified in writing in the following Tablet to M. Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney of Paris, France, June 10, 1912, how wonderful were the Abha confirmations while He was in Philadelphia:
“O thou kind friend! Due to an invitation extended by two ministers and the plea of the friends of God, I went to Philadelphia for a few days. Two splendid meetings were held at two churches and according to my incapacity I spoke. But the confirmations of the Kingdom of ABHA were all-encompassing and evident like unto the sun. Though we are poor, yet He is the Possessor of Wealth. In short, the blessed verse (of Bahá’u’lláh) ‘And we shall make victorious whosoever arises to serve My Cause with the armies of the Supreme Concourse and a contingent of near angels,’ has become clear and manifest. . .”
* * *
(For details of ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to Philadelphia, we would refer the readers to the Star of the West of June 24, 1914, and also July 13, 1914).
“Emotion as the Basis of Civilization,” by J. H. Denison. New York—Charles Scribner’s Sons,—$5.00. A brief review of this remarkable new book in which the author shows how human nature has been changed repeatedly and in the most astounding ways in a few generations by the steadfast application of an emotional culture.
ONE of the most stimulating discussions of civilization that has recently appeared is the volume, “Emotion as the Basis of Civilization,” in which the author presents at great length his proofs of a truth which is already thoroughly understood by the Bahá’i world, namely, that religion is the greatest factor of unity and of civilization.
Dealing with the ancient religions, he says: “In nearly all cases where a great civilization has been built up, it has been because a religion of this kind was developed which acted as a unifying emotional culture. In early days the chief function of religion was exactly this. It was the emotional culture by which the government maintained its authority and the sense of unity among the people.”
The stabilizing of Asiatic civilizations has been due to their patriarchal nature, the unity derived from obedience of every individual to some patriarchal head possessed of absolute authority and treated with respect and implicit obedience. Thus on the human plane the social and political organization of man corresponded with his religious belief in an absolute power which he must obey.
Such has been the ancient world. But today in advanced countries all this has disappeared. Absolutism—both in religion and in human organization—has given way to comparative
freedom of thought and action. The patriarchal organization of the family exists no more. Each individual is a law unto himself as far as the family group is concerned.
In this bewildering modern world of liberties running to license, of extreme individualism, and of untrammeled thought-life, where is the force that can bind men together into social and political unities strongly cohesive as in the past, or into that even broader and more vital inter-relation needed to meet Twentieth Century needs? Is there possibility of an emotional force which shall bring all mankind together in a world brotherhood and world unity?
Such is the problem which Mr. Denison presents to us in his extraordinary thoughtful and stimulating volume. At one stage of the development of his idea, he points out how near Islam came to meeting this need—nearer than Christianity in fact—to unifing the whole world in an emotional and spiritual democracy. Nothing short of the dynamic power of a great religion could, it is apparent, have welded together so many tribes, nations and races of heterogeneous culture.
“All historians declare that the amazing success of Islam in dominating the world lay in the astounding coherence or sense of unity in the group, but they do not explain
how this miracle was worked.”
Our author explains it himself, however, as a miracle due to a spiritual force of unification. It was the aim of Islam to create a universal brotherhood composed of all men of every race who would accept the one God, and promise loyalty to His Prophet.
”Muhammadanism performed the incredible feat of gathering up the broken fragments of a disintegrating world, and of combining them into a civilization that endured for a thousand years. It did this by means of a new type of unification which the genius of Muhammad had created, and which was exactly adapted to the needs of the age.”
Islam was democratic and universal as far as its membership was concerned. Its limitation as regards a permanent world civilization appeared later in the patriarchal form which gradually took possession of it, an overwhelming authority which reduced private opinion to the point of stagnation.
Christianity meanwhile was casting off its fetters, creating a religion which was democratic in its freedom of thought.
The fundamental principle of early Christianity, that brotherly love is the basis of the Kingdom of God, is now generally accepted. The Christian ideal, says the author, never fails to appeal when it is properly presented. These principles are found in other religious systems also. What the world needs is an increase of this brotherly feeling.
The author in concluding paints in golden colors a picture of what humanity might be were it to practice harmonious co-operation and unity, not only between individuals but between groups and nations,—unity
in freedom, and freedom bending its needs to unity.
“It must be in this way that the ultimate perfect harmony or liberty in unity will be worked out,—each individual free yet working in co-operation with others, each group and class free to pursue its own ends and yet aiding in the progress of the nation; each nation developing a civilization of its own, yet contributing to bring all mankind to greater knowledge and happiness. Just as in a great orchestra each individual plays his own part and each group has its score, and yet each blends with the rest to produce a harmony whose beauty and power transcend the utmost achievement of a single man, so the democratic liberty in unity should work out a harmony of its own, in which every kind of human labor, every social class, every art and philosophy, every race and nation will bear its part, with no other restraint than the joy of co-operation.”
“Sometimes in the right mood one seems to catch the echo of it, that stupendous harmony produced from all the multitudinous sounds of human life blended in one vast orchestra.”
This great vision, which has come from the realm of the Architypal, is nothing short of the vision of the Kingdom, the brotherhood of man, for which all Bahá’is are striving, and the hope of which is the daily inspiration of their activities.
And so convincingly does the author trace the pen of history, that the reader of “Emotion as the Basis of Civilization” will see no solution for the problems of humanity save that of a world civilization based upon the unifying power of a great world religion.
