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| VOL. 19 | AUGUST, 1928 | NO. 5 |
| Page | |
The Accident of Color, ’Abdu’l-Bahá | 134 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 131 |
Bid the Sand Let in the Light, Florence E. Pinchon | 135 |
Search (a Poem), Ruth Ellis Moffett | 133 |
’Abdu’l-Bahá in America, Dr. Zia Bagdadi | 140 |
The Unknown Dawn (a Poem), Sophronia Aoki | 139 |
Why Pray? Dr. Orrol L. Harper | 145 |
The Annual Souvenir of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, Hooper Harris | 147 |
Healing—Spiritual and Material, Walter B. Guy, M. D. | 150 |
Hungarian Artist, Prof. Nadler, Painted Portrait of ’Abdu’l-Bahá Martha L. Root | 153 |
The Religion of the Unreligious, James F. Morton | 154 |
Good-Will Orators, Agnes B. Alexander | 156 |
World Thought and Progress | 159 |
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--
’Abdu’l-Bahá: from a portrait painted by Prof. Robert Nadler, of Budapest, Hungary, and now hangs in the University of Technical Sciences in that city. (See p. 153.)
| VOL. 19 | AUGUST, 1928 | No. 5 |
and lives, it conserves and protects all states and conditions of mankind, establishing that intrinsic oneness of the world of humanity which can only come into being through the efficacy of the Holy
Spirit.”—’Abdu’l-Bahá.A REMARKABLE article in The Century Magazine, by an anonymous writer, “S. T.,” points out the absolute necessity today for creating a new type of religious organization which shall be world-inclusive, based on the essential unity of spiritual thought in all the great world religions. He sees religion of the past as too much a matter of “sects, denominations, divisions, and subdivisions; part against part, all loudly proclaiming unity and love to a world that they have kept in uproar down the centuries, with their quarrels, persecutions, and dissensions.”
We have outgrown this separatist type of religious organization, thinks the author. “The religious centers of the future can never be based on separative creeds; for the spirit of man has progressed beyond them. A true spiritual center must be a center * * * for every form of light and life we can lay hold on that does nourish and expand the human spirit.”
The differences and rivalries in the world religions do not have their source in the teachings of their Founder-Prophets. For “when one turns from religious organizations to the teachings of the great Prophets and Founders of religion Themselves, one finds instead of the bitter differences of their followers a surprising similarity. * * * It was in a
Muhammadan newspaper that I recently read, ‘If the true representatives of every religion could be brought together, it would be difficult to distinguish between them.’”
SUCH AN article as this convinces us how rapidly the world is moving toward that liberality of thought, that willingness to recognize truth in any form, which is to become the dominant note of the present century. The mind and heart of humanity is being prepared, through the rapid development of tolerance and eclecticism, for those teachings of Bahá’u’lláh that are to become the foundations of the new world civilization; just as in the days of ancient Rome a remarkable tolerance and mingling of faiths prepared a fertile field in which the divine seeds sown by Christ could lodge and grow to fruition.
It is necessary to realize in this connection, however, that truth is not established by eclecticism, but by revelation. All the tolerance in the world cannot create religion. Only the words of a divinely inspired Teacher can do this. Let us conceive, for instance, what would have been the spiritual result to the world if in the days of Rome there had been no revelation of Christ to guide searching souls, but only the eclectic experimentation of broad-minded Romans
in the cults of Mithras, Dinoysius, the Magna Mater, Isis, and numerous others.
It was not willingness to see truth in these diverse cults that reformed and spiritualized the ancient world. It was the teachings of Christ, the direct Light emanating from the Divine Source. So, one can clearly perceive, with all the great world religions. Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Muhammadanism—were not the result of tolerance and breadth of contemporaneous thought; but the result only of the inspired teachings of Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius, Laotze and Muhammad. Revealed truth alone can guide and save humanity.
“Mankind needs a universal motive power to quicken it. The inspired Messenger Who is directly assisted by the power of God brings about universal results.” And again ’Abdu’l-Bahá tells us that, “no matter how much man may acquire material virtues, he will not be able to realize and express the highest possibilities of life without spiritual graces. The world of humanity cannot advance through mere physical powers and intellectual attainments; nay, rather, the Holy Spirit is essential. The Divine Father must assist the human world to attain maturity. * * * The purpose and mission of the holy divine Messengers is the training and advancement of humanity, the cultivation of divine fruits in the garden of human hearts, the reflection of heavenly effulgence in the mirrors of human souls, the quickening of mental capacity and the increase of spiritual susceptibilities. When these results and outcomes are witnessed in mankind, the function and mission of the Manifestations are unmistakable.”
THE IRISH POET and philosopher, George Russell, who goes under
the pen name of Æ, writing in the Saturday Review of Literature regarding his recent visit to the United States, says that he finds the people of this country developing a beauty and elegance of their own, and a definite racial character. “What mood is going to be fundamental there?” he asks. And his answer is, “I think of it as some mood of planetary consciousness.” He surmises that this planetary consciousness will grow, until the time comes when “in the higher minds in the States a noble sense of world duty, a world consciousness, will struggle with mass mentality and gradually pervade it.”
This, if it be true, is an inspiring vision of ourselves—a splendid goal for us to achieve. What could be a nobler destiny for any country than that of leading the way to the universal development of this planetary consciousness of which Æ writes? The time has passed when nations conceive their glory to lie in martial conquest and world domination by means of force. The empires of the past, built up by selfish aggression with the aim of ruling as much of the earth’s surface as possible, are anomalies in this glorious age of freedom. Even if there were not already dawning a spiritual consciousness of higher national expressions than this, the irrefutable lesson taught by the Great War is having its destined effect, to the conclusion that force cannot achieve anything of lasting benefit, and that all aggregations of territory held together by mere force are unstable to the point of imminent dissolution in an epoch when self-expression, racial as well as individual, is such a dominant note in human psychology.
The growth of mass intelligence, the aspirations for racial expression, the increase of literacy the world over, is rapidly bringing it about—that no stable rule can be built upon
force. Justice, cooperation, mutual aid toward greater average prosperity—these must be the controlling factors of all stable governments of the future. And between nations as well as within nations, this justice and mutually beneficial relationship must reign.
Thus is evolving, before our very eyes, a century which is to become characterized by world vision, rather than by selfish nationalism. And the United States, free by the very nature of its birth and growth from the age-long bonds of nationalistic prejudices, jealousies, hatreds which poison the psychology of the Old World, has a remarkable opportunity to grow, as it has seemed of late to be growing, into that broad sense of world consciousness which will cause it to devote its vast wealth, intelligence, and energy to the generous assistance of all the peoples of the world, to the end that they, too, may prosper and thrive to their best possible advantage.
“If the world should remain as it is today,” said ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “great danger will face it; but if reconciliation and unity are witnessed, if security and confidence be established, if with heart and soul we strive in order that the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh
may find effective penetration in the realities of humankind, inducing fellowship and accord, binding together the hearts of the various religions and uniting divergent peoples—the world of mankind shall attain peace and composure, the will of God will become the will of man and the earth a veritable habitation of angels. Souls shall be educated, vice be dispelled, the virtues of the world of humanity prevail, materialism pass away, religion be strengthened and prove to be the bond which shall cement together the hearts of men.”
And in another Tablet to friends in America, ’Abdu’l-Bahá said, “O ye friends of God! Exert ye with heart and soul, so that association, love, unity and agreement be obtained between the hearts, all the aims may be merged into one aim, all the songs become one song and the power of the Holy Spirit may become so overwhelmingly victorious as to overcome all the forces of the world of nature. Work! This is the Great Work, should ye become assisted therein: Thus America may become the fulcrum of merciful susceptibilities, and the throne of the Kingdom of God be established upon earth with the greatest joy and majesty.”
- My soul has hunted Thee, God;
- In the night have I listened
- For Thee in the wind.
- And into the roses have I searched;
- Oft have I sought for Thee
- Under my thoughts.
- Now I know I have found Thee.
ACCORDING to the words of the Old Testament, God has said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” This indicates that man is of the image and likeness of God; that is to say, the perfections of God, the divine virtues are reflected or revealed in the human reality. Just as the light and effulgence of the sun when cast upon a polished mirror are reflected fully, gloriously, so likewise the qualities and attributes of divinity are radiated from the depths of a pure human heart. This is an evidence that man is the most noble of God’s creatures.
Each kingdom of creation is endowed with its necessary complement of attributes and powers. The mineral possesses inherent virtues of its own kingdom in the scale of existence. The vegetable possesses the qualities of the mineral plus a virtue augmentative or power of growth. The animal is endowed with the virtues of both the mineral and vegetable plane plus the power of intellect. The human kingdom is replete with the perfections of all the kingdoms below it, with the addition of powers peculiar to man alone. Man is therefore superior to all the creatures below him, the loftiest and most glorious being of creation. Man is the microcosm, and the infinite universe the macrocosm. The mysteries of the greater world or macrocosm are expressed or revealed in the lesser world, the microcosm. The tree, so to speak, is the greater world, and the seed in its relation to the tree is the lesser world. But the whole of the great tree is potentially latent and hidden in the little seed. When this seed is
planted and cultivated, the tree is revealed. Likewise the greater world, the macrocosm, is latent and miniatured in the lesser world or microcosm of man. This constitutes the universality or perfection of virtues potential in mankind. Therefore it is said that man has been created in the image and likeness of God.
Let us now discover more specifically how he is the image and likeness of God and what is the standard or criterion by which he can be measured and estimated. This standard can be no other than the divine virtues which are revealed in him. Therefore every man imbued with divine qualities, who reflects heavenly moralities and perfections, who is the expression of ideal and praiseworthy attributes, is verily in the image and likeness of God. If a man possesses wealth can we call him an image and likeness of God? Or is human honor and notoriety the criterion of divine nearness? Can we apply the test of racial color and say that man of a certain hue-white, black, brown, yellow, red—is the true image of his Creator? We must conclude that color is not the standard and estimate of judgment and that it is of no importance, for color is accidental in nature. The spirit and intelligence of man is the essential; and that is the manifestation of divine virtues, the merciful bestowals of God, the life eternal and baptism through the Holy Spirit. Therefore be it known that color or race is of no importance. He who is the image and likeness of God, who is the manifestation of the bestowals of God, is acceptable at the threshold of God whether his color
be white, black or brown; it matters not. Man is not man simply because of bodily attributes. The standard of divine measure and judgment is his intelligence and spirit.
Therefore let this be the only criterion and estimate, for this is the image and likeness of God. A man’s heart may be pure and white though his outer skin be black; or his heart be dark and sinful though his racial
color is white. The character and purity of the heart is of all importance. The heart illumined by the light of God is nearest and dearest to God; and inasmuch as God has endowed man with such favor that he is called the image of God, this is truly a supreme perfection of attainment, a divine station which is not to be sacrificed by the mere accident of color.
BENEATH the burning blue of a Syrian sky stretch wide the desert sands. Sands—that soft and warm, will cradle to sleep, or, lashed into passion, will reek vengeance on the unfortunate traveler caught among its treacherous dunes, cutting his flesh like knives, driving the sharp grit into his eyes and closing their sight forever.
Among the mud villages grope these—the sand-blinded; or in city byways those a little less unfortunate lead those whose sight is completely gone, “Blind leaders of the blind”—hopeless in a land of promise, dark in a world of light! No wonder that every prophet and seer who arose among those peoples prophesied of a glorious day that would come when “the eyes of them that see shall not be dim,” when the blind shall receive their sight, the waste places be redeemed and the desert made to blossom as the rose.
Then, one day, from the hillside descended a Prophet. He made a little mixture of water and clay and anointed the eyes of the unhappy ones who thronged around Him wheresoe’er He passed. And behold! they received their sight. How wonderful must they have thought the
new world around them—the colors of earth and sky, the scarlet anemones, the orange-scented crocuses, the fields white with lilies, the gardens fragrant with roses of Sharon, sunsets crimsoning across the Judean hills! And to some it was given to see more than this; even the Face of God shining through veils of flesh; the love and mercy of the Father beaming upon them in the compassionate gaze of the Son of Man. And this Light-Bringer said to them:
“I am the Light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.”
It was the historian Pliny who records that on the banks of the little river Belus, flowing beneath the sacred shadow of Mount Carmel, first took place the discovery by man of that strangely significant miracle of nature—the transmutation of sand into glass. He relates how Phœnecian merchants, probably camping here, found a kind of glass-like substance under their cooking-pots, which had been supported on blocks of natron—an impure form of carbonate of soda—which, combining with the
surrounding sand, had created a ball of crystal, sufficiently clear to suggest the possibility of making a permanent transparent material.
At first this tiny globe of crystal was hung round the necks of seers and wise men, and they would foresee the future in it. Then Chaldean astronomers discovered that, put at the end of a long tube, they could gaze out into the starry spaces of the sky. In Italy Galileo used it to reveal to men the moons of Jupiter. A new and glorious window had been opened for man, through which he could perceive the magnificence of worlds above him, the marvels of worlds beneath. And ever, side by side with the progress of civilization, has developed the benefits and uses of the art of glassmaking.
The ancient so-called mosaic glass of Egypt evolved into the fine products of the Roman civilization; and as the latter passed, behold! mankind had discovered windows to his houses. And in a hundred ways the process is being continued. Now we use it to protect our eyes, and our pictures, magnify or clarify our vision, decorate our dining tables, grow our tender plants, convey the ultra-violet rays so beneficial to health.
As Carl Sandburg writes: “Down in southern New Jersey they make glass; by day, by night, the fires burn on in Millville and bid the sand let in the light.”
And ever, too, the windows of the souls of humanity are becoming finer and clearer in quality, more and more able to reflect the Radiance beating upon them from the Throne of God. For ages we lived in houses without windows, without literature, music, science, art. Now we stand dazzled and bewildered by the Light streaming into our minds through every channel of human thought and activity.
As Tennyson wrote for the memorial window of the famous printer, Caxton, in St. Margaret’s, Westminster:
- “Thy prayer was Light—more light-
- While Time shall last.
- Thou sawest a glory growing on the night,
- But not the shadows which that light would cast,
- Till shadows vanish in the Light of Light.”
In the ageless story of our planet, once again a Light-Bringer has come to the favored land of Palestine. Come with the Prophet’s power to open the eyes of those who are blinded by the sands of ignorance and superstition, passion and materialism. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great Light.” They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, and the country of the blind, “upon them hath the Light shined.” Beneath the shadow of Mount Carmel, a Divine Alchemist has been revealing to an astonished world miracles of transmutation! Taking the sand and clay of the most diverse personalities, He has been transforming them into bright and shining mirrors, reflecting in their infinite variety the radiant attributes of Reality.
Through this heavenly crucible have passed representatives of every nation, and of every religion on earth: Persian and American, English and Indian, Jew and Gentile, Armenian, and his bitter enemy, the Turk; the followers of Islam and the adherents of Christianity; the worshipers at ancestral shrines, and the devotees of the Lord Buddha. And from their spiritual baptism they have emerged, with dark minds illumined, sundered hearts unified and
welded into one great brotherhood of understanding love; the dull clay of their natures glowing with a divine fire—glass reflecting, each according to capacity and purity, the sunlight of the New Revelation. And the joy of it is, that the process still continues, for, although the hills of Palestine know the earthly presence of the great Lights no more, yet in spirit They are ever there, and Their Heavenly Rays are now quickening into new life and beauty souls in every quarter of the globe.
Syria, it would appear, has ever been the land of spiritual processes, where the Celestial Beams have been focused, so to speak, at their intensest. And just as the unique geographical position of Palestine, its deposits of sand and fuel-supplying forests made it the original glassmaking center of the ancient world, so has it been the center from which there has flashed forth again and again, upon a darkened planet, these Searchlights of Truth—the Perfect Mirrors of the Holy Manifestations.
And Carmel itself rises smiling and majestic, its slopes consecrated for all time by the feet of those who have brought Good Tidings; the long succession of the saints and Messengers of the Most High. Through here journeyed the rich caravanserai of the patriarch Abraham; within its sheltering caves dwelt the fiery Elijah and trained his initiates; Christ in lonely meditation trod its mountain paths; as boy and youth hither Muhammad came; and after the long crucifixion of the prison of ’Akká, Bahá’u’lláh sought its invigorating air and green loveliness; while from its summit, or from beside the Tomb of the martyred Báb, ’Abdu’l-Bahá visioned, beyond the ocean’s purple rim, a “white, tremendous daybreak.” Indeed,
in the words of the author of “The Light of the World,” the very atmosphere—
“Silent, luminous, like a living spirit, is the true garment of wonder. It is as though Elijah, Isaiah, the Christ, Muhammad, Bahá’u’lláh * * * had all left their footprints not only on the mountain soil * * * but in the shining air, and had diffused the fragrance of their holy garments over all its flowers and grass, and made even the dust reflective of a hidden and heart-subduing beauty.”
Students of the Bahá’í Scriptures must be very familiar with the many analogies drawn by ’Abdu’l-Bahá between natural and spiritual processes, between physical phenomena and spiritual facts; and with the manifold ways in which this illuminating symbol of a glass or mirror is used to explain the mysteries of Nature, of man’s heart and mind, his relationship to God, and above all, as an illustration of the station and unity of the Manifestations.
’Abdu’l-Bahá tells us that-
“The Perfect Man—the Prophet—is one Who is transfigured, one Who has the purity and clearness of a perfect mirror, one Who reflects the Sun of Truth. All the Prophets and Messengers have come from one Holy Spirit and bear the Message of God fitted to the age in which They appear. The One Light is in Them and They are One with each other.”
And again—
“The illumination of the world of nature is dependent upon the splendor of the Sun of Reality. The grace of guidance is like unto the candle which is enkindled in the glass of knowledge and wisdom, and that glass is the mirror of the heart of humanity. When the intensity of the light and translucency of the glass, and the purity of the mirror are brought together, it will become light upon light.”
Then He tells us—
“When in the course of evolution the stage of thought and reason has been reached, the human mind acts as a mirror reflecting the Glory of God.”
Referring to the problem of simultaneous ideas, or mental telepathy, ’Abdu’l-Bahá said:
“Know that pure hearts upon which the mysteries of the Kingdom of God are
printed and pictured, are reflectors one to another, and thus the one can discover the secrets of the other, because such hearts are only mirrors confronting each other, on which the secrets of unity, affinity and concord are printed and reflected.”
And how repeatedly we are enjoined to pray for and strive toward transparency!
* * * “Purify the mirrors of the hearts of Thy servants from the dross of doubt and uncertainty.” * * *
* * * “The people of Baha must manifest the light of God in their deeds.”
It is remarkable how modern Science is coming more and more into line with the Bahá’í Teachings regarding this translucency and illusion of matter, and the all-importance of the spirit which it clothes or veils. Sir Oliver Lodge has recently described the physical body as “an assemblage of opposite electric charges” or vibrating material particles casing over and interpenetrated by an invulnerable, tractable etheric body.” And he states his conclusions thus:
“It may be that our permanent existence is in a supersensuous region all the time, that we are permanently associated with the impalpable non-sensuous ether of space, and that our present manifestation or incarnation is as comparatively trivial as it is certainly a temporary episode. * * * Mankind must learn that material accessories neither begin nor terminate the real existence of the Spirit. * * * The scientific discovery of a spiritual world long postulated by religion is one of the features of this epoch in the history of mankind.”
There is another analogy concerning our symbol that is, I think, interesting to carry out. Just as corrosion and time will wear down, and in doing so refine and enhance glass, so is suffering necessary to every soul in order to clarify its inner vision, refine and brighten the character, allowing the spiritual forces operating through the etheric body to obtain fuller and freer expression. The processes involved in “making a poet out of a man,” a saint out of
a sinner, a pipe attuned to heavenly melodies from a common reed, are often sharp and painful. But oh! the eternal compensation and rewards of such refining!
Great is this mystery of suffering; but ’Abdu’l-Bahá explains it thus: “Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance; they are sent by the Divine Mercy for our perfecting. The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest of spiritual virtues shown forth by him.”
A valuable worker in the Cause once asked the Master for healing from the painful disease afflicting him, but was told that he must be willing to take his share in the sufferings of humanity, which, being one organism, involved the necessity of bearing, to some extent, his neighbor’s burden. As he afterwards wrote: “The best of mankind are those who bear the biggest burdens. The saints have always suffered abundantly—the Prophets superlatively.”
Just as we can take a little sand, burn it together with lime and soda in the fire, and then watch how the opaque will grow translucent, and the grit irritated and hurt is transmuted into an optical lens—into vision—so may the troubles and pricks of life only aid us to become transfigured more and more into that clear glass which can reflect the love and patience, the strength and wisdom of God; like the glasses shining upon our dining tables, we may be used to convey to some other thirsty or sorrowing soul the very wine of Life—until our days in this fierce crucible of earth draw to an end. As Shelley so exquisitely expresses it:
- “That Light whose smile kindles the Universe,
- That Beauty in which all things work and move,
- * * * That sustaining Love,
- Which through the web of being blindly wove
- By man and beast and earth and air and sea
- Burns bright or dim, as each are mirrors of
- The fire for which all thirst—now beams on me–
- Consuming the last clouds of cold mortality.”
So, through the love and mercy of God, this insignificant human grain of sand may henceforward shine “a quenchless atom of immortal light” in the Kingdom of El-Abha.
And finally. In this great new cycle upon which we have entered, once again has the Word of creative energy been spoken, “Let there be Light!” And into the opaque body of humanity the heavenly Radiance is pouring. Upon its many-sided prism flashes the white Eternal Light, breaking as it does so into
countless bright and amazing colors, hitherto undreamed of. By thrilling adventures of the air, surprising discoveries in the earth—rewriting history; by new developments of art, through the vast vistas opening up before science; by means of great humanitarian and unifying agencies before which the barriers between religions, races and classes are falling, through the work and words of many gifted and enlightened souls, who may be all unaware of the Source of their illumination—streams in, in the Era now opening, the light and life and love of the Glory of God; till this material civilization shall become, as ’Abdu’l-Bahá expressed it, “the purest possible medium, the most unclouded glass through which the light of our Spiritual Civilization may shine.”
“Many a dawn hath the breeze of My loving kindness wafted over thee and found thee upon the bed of negligence fast asleep; and bewailing then thy plight, it returned whence it came.”
- I sent My freshening breezes far and wide
- To re-awake the earth from futile dreams;
- To waft away the clouds of doubt, the streams
- Of ignorance. They found you drowsy-eyed,
- Unmindful of the glorious dawning sun.
- Finding you heedless, the fair breeze returned,
- Awakening others. You have never learned
- That all mankind is one.
This story of ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit in America is based on material and notes corrected by ’Abdu’l-Bahá Himself, and which He had turned over to Dr. Bagdadi at the time He was leaving this country. The twofold purpose of this series, which will continue for several months, is, in the words of the author, “First to bring back to the memory of the believers the time of the incomparable days of ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to them and to remind them of His words, His instructions and His admonitions; and, secondly, to give a picture of His visit, so that later believers who did not have the blessing of seeing Him, may benefit by reading a brief history.”—Editor.
[Chapter I of this brief story of ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit in America, recorded the events which transpired on His arrival in New York. Chapter II related to His first Visit in Washington, D. C., and Chapter III to the first visit in Chicago. Chapter IV, which follows, tells of the stirring events and spiritual victories of His visits in Cleveland, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., Montclair, N. J., and the return visits to Washington, D. C., and New York.]
CLEVELAND, OHIO.—May 6, 1912, at the Euclid Hotel, in this city, as well as in every place, ’Abdu’l-Bahá was welcomed by the Bahá’ís and their friends and the ever-present newspaper reporters. When a reporter asked for a message, ’Abdu’l-Bahá replied, “My message is the oneness of mankind and universal peace. To conform religious questions with true science. Equal rights for all, and the removal of religious, national and political prejudices. To explain the reality of divine religions and to do away with imitations and sectarian superstitions. The training of women to such a degree that they will have equal rights with men. Readjustment of economic conditions and standards of living, so that, while a prince may be seated on the throne of honor, the poor also may possess a house and a mat. The establishment of spiritual civilization, the improvement of morals, and the unity of the foundation of divine religions, for if the people of the world investigate the reality of religions they become united, because reality is one. On account of imitations, they
have remained disunited and in disagreement, for imitations differ.”
Later, ’Abdu’l-Bahá went to the home of Dr. C. M. Swingle, where He spoke to the Bahá’ís and their friends. In the evening He addressed the public at the Euclid Hotel.
PITTSBURGH, PA.-May 7, 1912. The dear friends in this city engaged an apartment on the seventh floor of the Schenley Hotel and were exceedingly happy about it, because it looked like that of the Plaza Hotel in Chicago. Then during their private interviews, the friends, one by one asked the same question: “Master! how do you like these rooms?” His reply to all was also the same, “Khaili Khoob! Khaili Khoob!”—meaning “Very good! Very good!” When all had left His presence happy and pleased, He turned His smiling face toward this servant and exclaimed, “The friends here are anxious to know if I like these rooms! They do not know what we had to go through in the past. Imagine the conditions and surroundings when we were exiled by the Turkish Government and were imprisoned in the barracks of ’Akká; Bahá’u’lláh occupied one room; His family and several other families were forced to occupy one room. Aside from the severe illness that was raging, and the death of many among us prisoners—adults and children—on account of unsanitary
surroundings and starvation, I noticed that my own presence in that crowded room was another source of torture to all of them. This was due to the fact that parents and children were suppressing and restraining themselves by trying to be quiet and polite in my presence. So, in order to give them freedom, I accepted the morgue of the barracks, because that was the only room available, and I lived in it for about two years. Now the kind friends here wish to know if I like these magnificent rooms!”
In the evening ’Abdu’l-Bahá addressed a public meeting at the hotel. He explained some of the Bahá’í principles, and declared that “the Orient must acquire material civilization from the Occident and the Occident must acquire divine civilization from the Orient.”
Later, at a meeting composed of doctors and educators, ’Abdu’l-Bahá answered all questions, and in addition He explained how to heal the sick. “If they (the doctors) learn about the foci—that is, the points of entrance of disease germs—and take the balance or equilibrium of the body elements as the base of treatment, and when an element is diminished or lacking, a diet that can supply the diminished element is given, then there will be no need for drugs and other difficult methods of treatment.”
Though this scientific statement of ’Abdu’l-Bahá sounds very brief, the intelligent and progressive physician knows that it contains the secret of medicine and the foundation upon which the right course of physical healing must be based in the future.
When the doctors present had no more questions for discussion, ’Abdu’l-Bahá said that He had one question to ask them. “Why is it that the animals heal themselves, but man in sickness remains puzzled or
helpless?” For a moment the doctors looked at each other inquiringly, but not one opened his lips. Finally, after consultation, perhaps, they said, “We would rather hear the answer from the lips of His Holiness ’Abdu’l-Bahá.” This was His answer: “Because man’s thoughts are not limited to one direction; therefore, he is more heedless. On the other hand, however, through concentration and deep thinking, his knowledge is more than all other creatures.”
On May 8, 1912, while preparing to leave Pittsburgh for Washington, D. C., we, the servants, begged ’Abdu’l-Bahá to have a special compartment, or at least a berth, on the train, that He might rest better. But He absolutely refused. “I do certain things and have certain expenses,” said He emphatically, “only to help others and to serve the Cause of God; otherwise, from the beginning of my life, I never liked distinction.”
WASHINGTON, D. C.—May 8, 1912. This was ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s second visit to the city of Washington, and on His arrival He occupied an apartment at 1340 Harvard Street. Later He visited the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Parsons.
On the following day—May 9, 1912—the fire of opposition was ablaze in the hearts of a few fanatical clergymen on account of the great public interest in ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to their city. They spoke bitterly against Him and the Bahá’í Cause; but all their efforts were in vain. ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s comment on the matter was this: “I deal with people very gently that they may not turn away and raise the least objection. Yet these ministers of Washington have accused us of atheism. The opposition of the leaders of religious sects is an evidence of the power
and greatness of the Bahá’í Cause, for nobody would pay any attention to an unimportant cause.”
On the following day—May 10, 1912—’Abdu’l-Bahá spoke at a Woman’s Meeting, and later visited a settlement house, a welfare organization for young children in which Mrs. Alice Barney and others were interested. From there He went to the home of Mrs. Barney for dinner. Mrs. Barney’s son-in-law and daughter, M. and Mme. Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, of Paris, France, were also present.
NEW YORK CITY.—May 11, 1912. This was ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s second visit to the city of New York. The Bahá’ís of that city and vicinity filled His apartment at 227 Riverside Drive. “Marhaba! Marhaba!” This is the first greeting that almost all the friends and visitors heard from ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s lips—meaning, “Welcome! Welcome!” After welcoming those who came to see Him, ’Abdu’l-Bahá addressed the group in these words: “We went to Chicago and Washington. It was very pleasant, for the American people are polite, eager to learn, and anxious to advance. When man sees a tree growing and thriving, he must be hopeful, for undoubtedly it will blossom and bear fruit. People have asked questions and when they heard the answers, they did not argue. As we met the learned men and discussed great questions with them, they expressed their satisfaction. All those who asked important questions, on hearing the answers, showed that they were pleased. Some of the learned men in other countries are not like that, because they always like to argue. We met good ministers at Chicago and were invited by several of them to speak in their churches. We delivered comprehensive addresses and were invited
by one of them, Rev. Dr. Milburn, to his home. There was not a single soul who did not express satisfaction and approval.
“Yesterday, too, we spoke to a distinguished group in Washington, D. C.—some of the judges and one of the personal friends of former President Roosevelt. When the subject of the cause or means for uniting the different religions, and for good will among the nations, was brought up, this friend (of Mr. Roosevelt) said, ‘Christ was the source of discord!’ Afterward, as I explained to him the unity and good will of nations under the power of His Holiness Christ, he smiled and accepted, and all others who were present were also pleased. Finally, I asked, ‘Have you any more questions or objections?’ He replied, ‘No! Not at all!’ I asked, ‘Did you accept these explanations?’ He replied, ‘All right.’”
MONTCLAIR, N. J.—May 12, 1912. “While still tired from traveling,” exclaimed ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “again we must leave today for Montclair to speak at Unity Church.”
First He went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edsel, and from there to the Unity Church. Here He spoke upon the subject of “Divine Unity”—the “Oneness of God.” When He finished speaking, the minister brought the Church Book to be blessed by ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s pen. His wish was granted, and this was what ’Abdu’l-Bahá wrote in Persian: “O God! Thou pure Lord! Thanks be unto Thee, that the mountains and deserts were traversed and the great Atlantic was crossed until we reached this continent and in this country, we have mentioned Thy name and fame with our tongue. Even in this church, like unto Elijah, we have proclaimed Thy Kingdom. O God! Make the people of this
church to be attracted to Thy beauty, and in Thy shelter, protect and bless them.—E. E., ’Abdu’l-Baha Abbas.”
NEW YORK CITY.—On the evening of May 12, 1912, at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, West 104th Street, New York, ’Abdu’l-Bahá delivered a remarkable address at the meeting of the International Peace Forum from which the following is quoted:
“When we review history, we find that from the beginning of the world until the present time, strife and warfare have prevailed among mankind. It was either a war among religions, or battles among races, or strife and warfare among kingdoms, or between two continents. And all of these have arisen from human ignorance and have emanated from misunderstanding and lack of education. And the greatest warfare and battles were among religions.
“It is an indisputable fact that the divine Prophets came to establish unity and harmony among mankind. They were Divine Shepherds, not wolves. The shepherd gathers and protects the sheep; He does not disperse them. Every Divine Shepherd assembled a flock of sheep who were formerly scattered. Among the Shepherds was His Holiness Moses, Who gathered the sheep of the scattered tribes of Israel, united them and took them to the Holy Land. He gathered them after their dispersion, harmonized them with each other, and became the cause of their progress. Therefore, their degradation was transformed into glory, their poverty into wealth, and their vices were changed into virtues to such a degree that the Solomonic Sovereignty was established and the fame of their glory reached the East and the West. Thus it becomes evident that Moses was a real Shepherd because He gathered the
scattered sheep of Israel and united them.
“When His Holiness Christ appeared, He too became the cause of unity. He gathered the scattered sheep of Israel with the scattered sheep of the Greeks, Romans, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Egyptians. These people were in the utmost strife and warfare with each other. They used to shed the blood of each other and like ferocious animals even devoured each other. But His Holiness Christ gathered, united, and harmonized these people, and destroyed the foundation of strife and warfare. It is evident, therefore, that the divine religions were the cause of fellowship and love. The religion of God is not the cause of strife and warfare. If religion becomes the cause of discord, its non-existence is better than its existence, for religion must be the cause of life; if it becomes the cause of death, it is better to be without religion. For religious teachings are like medicine, if medicine becomes the cause of sickness, unquestionably the non-existence of the medicine is better than its existence.
“Likewise at a time when the Arabian tribes were in the utmost enmity and strife, shedding the blood of each other, confiscating property, making families and children captives, waging continuous warfare in the Arabian Peninsula, when no soul was at ease and no tribes had any rest—at such a time His Holiness Muhammad appeared. He united the scattered tribes. He caused them to agree and harmonize with each other. Strife and warfare were banished. The Arabs progressed to such a degree that the kingdom of Andalusia and the great dominion of the Caliphs was established.
“From this we can understand that the foundation of divine religion is one and that it is for peace,
not for war; it is love, truth, unity, and fellowship. But wars emanated from imitations which later had crept in. The origin of religion is one and that is Reality. * * * In imitations, differences are found; because imitations differ, therefore they become the cause of discord. If, however, all the religions of the world would forsake imitation and follow the original foundation of religion, all would agree. They would have no more strife and warfare, for religion is reality and reality is one; it does not accept multiplicity.” * * *
“In Persia, the utmost bitterness and hatred existed among the different sects and religions. Likewise, in other Asiatic countries. Religions were hostile toward each other. The sects used to shed the blood of each other. The races and tribes were at war, fighting and battling constantly. They believed that the highest honor was in slaying their own kind. It was considered a glory for one religion to attack and conquer another religion in battle. It was at such a time that His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh appeared in Persia. * * * He laid the foundation of universal peace, raised the call of the oneness of the world of humanity, spread the principles of peace and reforms in the East. He wrote to all the kings of the Orient about this important matter, encouraged all and announced to all that the glory of the world of humanity lies in the establishment of peace and righteousness. This took place sixty years ago. Because He promulgated the principles of peace, the Oriental kings arose against Him, for they imagined that these principles were contrary to their personal benefits and self-interest. They inflicted
upon Him all kinds of punishments. They beat Him severely and imprisoned Him. They banished Him to remote lands and finally held Him prisoner at a fortress (’Akká), and persecuted His friends. On account of this matter—that is, the abandonment of superstitions, imaginations, and for the oneness of mankind—they shed the blood of twenty thousand men. What homes they wrecked! What souls they attacked and murdered! But the friends of Bahá’u’lláh never wavered, and even until now, with heart and soul are making the greatest effort, endeavoring in the promotion of peace and agreement and in this great cause they are standing in action. * * * My hope is this, that the first ray of peace may start from America and reach other regions. The American people are more capable than others to do this, for they are not like others. * * * Capacities exist in all countries and the cry for universal peace is rising, for the people are distressed. Every year the governments are adding more to the expenditure of the armies. Therefore, the people are tired. Just now in Europe the earth is loaded with explosives and deadly instruments. Ere long, these weapons of hell shall wreck the edifice of mankind! * * *
“Now, just as America is famous throughout the world for her material prosperity and is well known and noted for her efforts in the promotion of industries, may she also endeavor to spread universal peace, so that she may be confirmed and this great matter may spread to other regions. I pray on your behalf that you may be confirmed and assisted.”
(To be continued)
All quotations used in this article are from the inspired writings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá unless otherwise noted.—Editor.
PRAYER is the motive power of life—the clarion call to progress.
One might as well ask, “Why live?” as to demand, “Why pray?” The ability to pray is as much a natural gift as is the ability to live.
We may not appreciate prayer, just as we may not fully understand life. Many have not become sensitive to the “music of prayer,” and many have never learned how to live. Just in proportion as we are conscious of true life are we able to appreciate the power of prayer.
You need not laugh, you who never even think of prayer, and whose life is yet full of joy and activity, for you are praying constantly along with the rest of the world. All creation kneels in dependent servitude to its Lordly Creator. Your prayer is unconscious perhaps—but all created things pray potentially and receive an answer.
The plant prays potentially, “O God! Send me rain!” God answers this prayer and the plant grows. Before we were born into this world did we not pray, “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 came into this world did we not find our prayers answered? Did we not find mother, food, light, home and many other necessities and blessings, although we had not actually asked for them? It is natural that the joys and activities, the gifts of life, are answers to unconscious prayer.
Such prayer is the demand within us for life and its necessities. Capacity is potential prayer. Each created
existence, with all its gifts and blessings, is the answer to that prayer. “Man is eternally in a state of communication and prayer with the Source of All Good.”
“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?”
Conscious prayer may be of two general kinds: first, the wordy, automatic, formalistic prayer that results from habit, and fails to touch the core of the heart; and, second, the sincere, heartfelt aspiration of the soul expressed in thought, attitude, or word, or in both attitude and word.
The second type of prayer can come only from the man who is becoming conscious of life and its endless significances. All people who pray consciously and sincerely possess at least one quality in common, and that is faith in a Wisdom which created and regulates the universe. 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 men who are entering this state of awareness 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 the eyes are closed, the eyes of the worshiper are wide open. While all the 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—deep, airy, ethereal 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.
’Abdu’l-Bahá says: “In the highest prayer men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him,
or 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 to 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, do not 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.”
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 fellow man. Conscious prayer adds to and augments potential prayer by increasing our capacity for receiving and reflecting the powers and gifts of life.
THE “Souvenir” is the annual commemoration of that memorable occasion in the summer of 1912 when ’Abdu’l-Bahá addressed the Bahá’ís and assembled friends in the beautiful pine grove near the Wilhelm estate in West Englewood, N. J. Its anniversary has grown to be much more than an annual outing celebrating the event—it has now become a Bahá’í Institution.
During the years since 1912 this gathering of the people at West Englewood has created an atmosphere which is all its own. The feeling with which one attends it is that of universal good will and brotherhood. We instinctively say to ourselves, “Today, out in God’s own sunshine and open air, in an environment peculiarly conducive to good will, I shall endeavor to dissolve or merge the individual and personal self in that greater Universal Self, the Self of God, and do my utmost to realize the oneness of the world of humanity.”
The occasion this year, as in all previous years, was a marked success, for at least three hundred people attended from all parts of the country.
Mr. Roy C. Wilhelm, presiding at the afternoon meeting, expressed the desire of all Bahá’ís that the speeches delivered on this memorable occasion should be explanatory of the Bahá’í Teachings, thus all invited guests could join, in thought, with the universal aspects of the program. The entire group, therefore, in its harmonious attitude, magnificently demonstrated the principle of The Oneness of Mankind; and again the creative Words of ’Abdu’l-Bahá
were productive of results, for we find in the address which He gave before the assembled friends at Englewood in 1912 these words:
“Such gatherings as this have no equal or likeness in the world of mankind, where people are drawn together by physical motives or in furtherance of material interests, for this meeting is a prototype of that inner and complete spiritual association in the eternal world of being. * * * The motive is attraction to the divine kingdom.”
The result or effect of the program was well stated by Dr. Susan I. Moody when she declared: “It was, I think, a wonderful and beautiful convocation, and the comprehensive views expressed were of a character to attract people unacquainted with the principles of the Movement. I appreciated the broad scope of the talks very much and tried to conduct my own part of the program along the same universal lines.”
Carrying out the plan arranged, the addresses assumed the form of a symposium of the Bahá’í Teachings, each speaker giving a short exposition of some vital principle.
Mr. Horace Holley, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, opened the program. His remarks were introductory, and he particularly stressed the need of the world for unity, and the necessity of a world program to accomplish it.
He was followed by Mrs. Stuart W. French, of Pasadena, Calif., on the “Independent Investigation of Reality.” Her contribution was that to properly investigate the reality at
the center of all human activities one needed an adequate vocabulary, as the thorough investigation of any subject required a knowledge of its terminology. She urged that for the investigation of reality along universal lines, the Bahá’í Teachings afforded just such a vocabulary as was needed because the independent search for truth was not only one of its cardinal principles, but the very name “Bahá’í” (of the light) implied a people who were the followers of light wherever it was to be found.
Mr. Louis Gregory, of Washington, D. C., spoke on the principle, “Religion Must be the Cause of Unity,” in his unusually earnest and pleasing manner, and was listened to with great attention.
Mrs. May Maxwell, of Montreal, Canada, explained the necessity for the Accord of Religion and Science. She pointed out that, however fanatical their followers may have become, the great Founders of Religion had always encouraged science and learning, and that the Bahá’ís should be especially grateful because science had in this age afforded the facilities for the promulgation of the highest humanitarian ideals.
Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher spoke on the necessity for a Universal Auxiliary Language. He said that he himself especially realized this necessity as he had traveled widely over the world, and while he spoke four or five languages, he had been compelled to learn and appreciate what a tremendous help such a universal language would be.
Mrs. Marie Moore, of New York, read the address by ’Abdu’l-Bahá at West Englewood in 1912.
An especially attractive feature of the program this year was the beautiful rendering of the Negro spiritual, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” by Mrs. Dorothy Richardson, of Boston.
An interesting address was delivered by Dr. Haines (colored), Secretary of the Commission on Church Relations of the Federal Council of Churches of America. He dwelt at length on the progress being made in the South in the establishment of a better understanding and a more satisfactory basis for cooperation between the white and colored people, and referred especially to the good feeling and mutuality between the professors of Vanderbilt University (white) and Fisk University (colored) at Nashville, Tenn. He mentioned the fact that when Fisk University had an exhibit of Negro art, the city of Nashville thought it was far too good to be limited to the University, and asked that when they got through with it the city itself might be permitted to have the Exhibit at the Watkins’ Institute. This was done.
A very impressive part of the program was a greeting (read by Mrs. Amelia Collins, member of the National Spiritual Assembly) from Miss Martha Root, Bahá’í teacher now traveling in Europe, who has been absent from America for many years in the interest of the Bahá’í Cause, but who never fails to remember this Annual Souvenir Feast no matter where she may be. She stressed the purpose of such a Feast, what it now means as demonstrating the crystallization of the teachings into deeds, and what will continue to be its deep and still ever deeper spiritual significances as “the hundreds and thousands of meetings shall be held” down through the ages in commemoration of that first wonderful spiritual feast founded here and presided over by ’Abdu’l-Bahá Himself.
The evening session was addressed by Miss Genevieve Coy, who spoke
--PHOTO--
“Evergreen Lodge,” built by Mr. Roy C. Wilhelm on his estate at West Englewood, N. J., where meetings are held when the weather prevents gathering in the open. The picture shows how this attractive building has been enlarged
of the trend of modern education toward universals, and a talk by Mr. Hooper Harris, who urged the necessity for a Universal Tribunal. The special feature, however, was Dr. Susan I. Moody’s description of the progress of education in Persia, and especially among the women, and the work of the Tarbiat School. It is interesting to learn that all but two thousand of the twenty thousand dollars for the Lillian Kappes Memorial Fund to pay for the new building for
the Tarbiat School has been raised. It is more than interesting, it is inspiring to learn, too, that, although now in her late seventies, Dr. Moody, this noble and accomplished woman, has completed plans to return to Persia in October to continue her work as a physician among the Persian women, and that she is taking with her, for the Tarbiat School, one of California’s high-school teachers, Miss Adelaide Sharp, of San Francisco.
not consider his own pleasure but seek the pleasure of others. He must not desire glory nor gifts of bounty for himself but seek these gifts and blessings for his brothers and sisters. It is my hope that you may become like this; that you may attain to the supreme bestowal and be imbued with such spiritual qualities as to forget
yourselves entirely * * * .”—’Abdu’l-Bahá.
“O Children of Men! Do ye know why We have created ye from one clay? That no one should glorify himself over the other. Be ye ever mindful of how ye were created. Since We created ye all from the same substance, ye must be as one soul, walking with the same feet, eating with one mouth, and living in one land, that ye may manifest with your being, and by your deeds and actions, the signs of unity and the spirit of oneness. This is My counsel to ye, O people of lights! Therefore follow it, that ye may attain the fruits of holiness from the Tree of Might and Power.”—Bahá’u’lláh.
THE basic foundation of all structures, be they organic or of stone or brick, is of the mineral world. Just as in stone or brick we find silica, oxygen, hydrogen, and calcium, and many other elements, so in organic structures we have similar groups. In the bony tissues we find, among other elements, calcium and phosphorus; so, we find, likewise, all the elements used in organic organism in varying amounts throughout the different tissues.
That a harmonious balance is necessary for a state of health, goes without saying; likewise, when by an unbalanced or impoverished diet this harmony is destroyed, ill health must ensue, is, also, a truism.
In all variations from the normal health of man we find disturbances and structural changes. These are recognized as diseased conditions. Before any attempt to remedy them is made, it is absolutely necessary, to be even moderately successful, to be able to recognize, approximately at least, the cause of the disfunction or structural change or pathological condition we intend to correct. Without the knowledge of these basic fundamentals, we must undoubtedly experience many failures.
We find among impoverished people shortages of lime and phosphorus, oftimes due to a constant diet of white bread. We find deficiency of iron in simple anemia—sometimes lack of hydrogen due to need of water in the diet. Sometimes
shortage of the alkaline salts is found, as in acidosis; again, lack of silica, apparent in the wrinkled skins and corrugated nails of the extremities oftimes seen in senile decay. Sometimes an excess of iron is present in the liver, as found in pernicious anemia, or an excess of nitrogen, as seen in cases of over-exertion, and a diet too rich in proteins, or after long-continued sickness. Therefore, it is evident that a fundamental education in the chemistry of dietetics is very necessary in the treatment of the sick. This must include a knowledge of the elements present in various forms of food—that is, the chemical content of the various fruits, vegetables, and animal foods. A working knowledge of the vitamins—their presence or deficiency in certain articles of diet—is also imperative.
The symptoms found in vitamin starvation, so prominent in Europe during the World War, must be thoroughly understood. For instance, vitamin A, found in butter, animal fats, and oils, is extremely important in growing children; deficiency or absence in the child’s diet causes bony deformities, rickets, carious or malformed teeth, and stunted growth.
A knowledge of the ultra-violet rays in sunshine is likewise important, not only for the child, but for their influence on cows, from whom their milk is obtained.
Vitamin B, found in bran or outer coverings of the various cereals, is also but little understood. Deficiency of this vitamin brings on paralysis, glandular swellings, neuritis, and other disturbances, showing how necessary the consumption of bran, in some form, is to the human health.
Vitamin C, found in fresh fruits, is likewise important. Lack of this vitamin causes scurvy, carious teeth, emaciation, skin eruptions, stunted children, also severe digestive disturbances.
In countries far from the ocean we find a lack of iodine; consequently, in those districts, many cases of goiter are also found.
Whatever the cause may be—a lack of or an excess of the mineral constituents—must be remedied by an appropriate diet, better hygiene, and sometimes by the direct administration of the needed element.
Fresh pure air, out-of-door sunshine, proper diagnosis, and an ample supply of pure water, are all required if health is to be maintained or secured.
“The body of man, which has been formed gradually, must similarly be decomposed gradually. This is according to the real and natural order, and Divine Law. If it had been better for it to be burned after death, in its creation it would have been so planned that the body would automatically become ignited after death, be consumed, and turned into ashes. But the Divine Order, formulated by the Heavenly Ordinance, is that after death this body shall be transferred from one stage to another, different from the preceding one, so that according to the relations which exist in this world, it may gradually combine and mix with other elements, thus going through stages until it arrives in
the vegetable kingdom, there turning into plants and flowers, developing into trees of the highest paradise, becoming perfumed and attaining the beauty of color.
“Cremation prevents it from attainment to these transformations, the elements becoming so quickly decomposed that transformation to these various stages is checked.”-’Abdu’l-Bahá.
“O My servants! Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must bear fresh and beautiful fruits, that ye and others may be profited by them. Therefore it is necessary for ye to engage in arts and business. This is the means of attaining wealth, O ye possessors of intellect. Affairs depend upon means, and the blessing of God will appear therein and will enrich ye. Fruitless trees have been and will be only fit for fire.—Bahá’u’lláh.
MAN, like the animal world, contains within his organism, not only the mineral kingdom as outlined in the previous chapter, but also the vegetable kingdom. In one sense it may be regarded as complementary to the animal kingdom, for as green is complementary to red, so the green chlorophyl of the plant is complementary to the red hæmoglobin of the blood.
Sustenance in the vegetable kingdom is carried on by organs exterior to itself, such as the root system; also, by cellular tissue that absorb carbon dioxide from the surrounding atmosphere, but with this distinction, that in the vegetable kingdom, during daylight, carbon dioxide is absorbed and oxygen liberated, while in the animal kingdom both by day and night, oxygen gas is absorbed from the atmosphere by the circulating blood and carbon dioxide discharged from the lungs.
Another difference is that all the organs of nutrition and absorption are contained within the interior of the animal organism, while in the vegetable it is chiefly the opposite. But there the difference ceases.
We find on examination that the root system of plant life contains digestive ferments, and that microbic life must be present in order to prepare the elemental kingdom for absorption into the plant tissues; likewise, warmth and moisture are inseparable factors.
Therefore, we can state conclusively that the process of nutrition, assimilation, and excretion from a physiological and biochemical point of view is essentially the same.
In abnormal or diseased conditions in the vegetable world we find plant life attacked by various enemies and pests, upset by improper substances present in the soil, and injured by extremes of heat or cold, dryness, or moisture.
Just as the vegetable world needs a proper amount of sunshine, air, heat, and water, so does the human structure need it. Just as the plant will not grow in an overcrowded environment, nor when an unbalance of nitrogen, carbon, or phosphorus is present in food or body.
The functions of this vegetative tract are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic is probably the oldest of the two nervous systems in the human body, and has taken over, as it were, during the evolutionary process of humanity, the functions of digestion, assimilation, excretion, circulation, heat control, and respiration, and in so doing set free the higher consciousness or reality for nobler possibilities.
Whenever the cerebral spinal nervous system is upset by uncontrolled emotions, such as extreme joy, grief, fear, etc., then through its connecting
nerves the sympathetic system is unbalanced, and disharmony of function ensues. In such conditions we find indigestion, flatulence, cardiac disturbances, anemia, weakness, and other forms of ill health; sometimes hysteria, insanity, melancholia, or deranged mental complexes.
It must be remembered that a similar nervous structure is doubtless present in plant life, and that this nervous structure, called the sympathetic system, links man with the vegetable kingdom as well as with the spiritual. A quotation from the writings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá is extremely interesting from this point of view:
“The powers of the sympathetic nerve are neither entirely physical nor entirely spiritual, but are between the two (systems). The nerve is connected with both. Its phenomena shall be perfect when its spiritual and physical relations are become normal.
“When the material world and the divine world are well correlated, when the hearts become heavenly, and the aspirations grow pure and divine, perfect connection shall take place. Then shall this power produce a perfect manifestation. Physical and spiritual diseases will then receive absolute healing.”
Also, a quotation from the same source as to diet in future generations is added:
“The food of the future will be fruit and grains. The time will come when meat is no longer eaten. Medical science is yet only in its infancy, but it has shown that our natural diet is that which grows out of the ground. The people will gradually develop up to the condition of taking only this natural food.”
The growing esteem for fruits, fresh vegetables, and cereals, bears out this statement to a remarkable degree.
PROF. ROBERT NADLER, of Budapest, Hungary, has painted a very beautiful portrait of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, which now hangs in the University of Technical Sciences in Budapest. Professor Nadler, who is one of the great painters of Hungary, met ’Abdu’l-Bahá in 1913. I accepted his kind invitation to come and see this painting and I was deeply impressed with it, for whichever way one turns the eyes of ’Abdu’l-Bahá look directly into his own.
Professor Nadler told me that he heard that ’Abdu’l-Bahá, the distinguished Prophet and Humanitarian from Haifa, Palestine, was in Budapest and immediately he and other members of the Theosophical Society went to call upon Him. As President of the Theosophical Society, Professor Nadler had written to ’Abdu’l-Bahá in Germany inviting Him to come to Budapest. Lectures were given in two great halls, one in the ancient House of Commons and the other in the Hall in the House of Lords. ’Abdu’l-Bahá spoke in Persian with English and Hungarian interpreters.
Professor Nadler said that ’Abdu’l-Bahá received many guests in His room on the second floor of the Ritz Hotel. “He found everything good in our city,” said Professor
Nadler. “The beautiful view of the Danube, good water, good air-He saw everything with a nice eyeglass. I was so impressed by the great beauty of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, the beauty of His expression, the beauty of the soul which spoke out of His eyes, that I longed to paint His portrait; I wished to have it in the world after He had passed. There was not much time but He came to my studio three times. The work went very quickly. Everyone was pleased with this portrait.
“Then I wrote to my sister, who lives in Vienna, and telephoned her long distance that ’Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas was coming to her city and that they should arrange something. In Vienna He spoke at two large gatherings, which my sister arranged in her home.”
Professor Nadler spoke with such love of ’Abdu’l-Bahá and said that he felt this portrait was the best work that he had ever done.
So this beautiful picture hangs in a place of honor in the great University of Budapest, and carries the spirit and the name of ’Abdu’l-Bahá to many hundreds of students.
I think that only three portraits of ’Abdu’l-Bahá were ever painted when He Himself sat for the picture.
as worship. * * * Briefly, all effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity.”
The author, Curator of the Paterson Museum, Paterson, N. J., and world known in Esperantist circles as one of the most ardent and devoted workers in the field of universal language, here presents in lucidly clear outline the necessity for a renewing of religion.—Editor.
ALL students of the Bible are familiar with the famous address of Paul to the Athenians, pronounced on the Areopagus. Having observed among the many shrines and objects of worship an altar inscribed “To an Unknown God,” the Apostle proclaimed: “What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth to you,” and proceeded to enounce the gospel of the divine and infinite Being who “dwelleth not in temples made with hands,” and whose offspring we all are.
It is not only the Athenians who worship an unknown God. Even the loftiest spiritual vision must forever remain baffled before the attempt to conceive the full meaning of Omniscience; and not all eternity will bring the glory of Divinity within the ken of the highest created being.
- “Veil after veil will lift; but there
- must be
- Veil after veil behind.”
That God is, there is twofold evidence in the workmanship of the universe and in the dynamic messages and personalities of the Prophetic Mirrors that reflect those of the divine attributes which bear relation to this earth and to the race of mankind upon it. Those who conceive and joyfully accept the mission of the Messengers may be said to know God, as far as man may make this claim. The knowledge is not that of a complete or even approximate understanding of the Divine Reality, but that of a spiritual realization of the measurelessly beneficent will of God that man shall become formed after the likeness of perfect Love.
There could be no greater error, however, than that of confounding the knowledge of God with the glib pronunciation of one of the names chosen to indicate the Divine Being. To this all the Messengers have borne emphatic testimony. Whether the worshiper speaks of El Shaddai, Aton, Jehovah, Brahm, Ormuzd or Allah, he is of the elect only if he worships “in spirit and in truth,” and seeks earnestly to make his active life conform to his conception of the will of God.
What is less commonly realized is that the converse is also true, and that there are many worshipers of “an Unknown God” among us, who serve sincerely though in blindness, the divine purpose. This includes not only the followers of narrow sects, with strange and perverted creeds, not only the “idolater,” with the symbol which is all his limited mental grasp can hold of the “Power not ourselves that makes for righteousness,” but as well a great body of men and women who deny and repudiate in words the conception which has been given to them as the God in whom others believe.
They have beheld a caricature, and have fancied that no nobler vision was possible. Yet among these are devoted and loyal souls that spend themselves and are spent in pure love for their fellows, whom they verily believe themselves to be serving in the highest manner, in freeing them from what is deemed a mischievous illusion. They are not without God, though they know Him not by name. They worship an Unknown God by the appellation of Enlightment, Science, Liberty, Fraternity,
Humanity, Truth, Justice or Democracy. And in the service of the Unknown God they are ready for the utmost sacrifice, the extremest martyrdom. Faithful to such degree of truth as they have grasped, it is not they who are justly to be labeled “Infidels,” but those who, having seen more clearly, have turned their backs on the light.
There is no class of human beings more in need of the Message of the New Day than that composed of the professed Agnostics and Atheists of the land, whose very blasphemy is their form of worship. They rail at idolatry and at unworthy concepts of God; and as they are intensely convinced that no others are possible, they are not easily reached. Yet among these is an immense potential force for good. They are hungry for spiritual food, and need only to be convinced that they are not offered a stone for bread. Hard as it is to penetrate their resistant intellects, there is more hope of them than of many a smug Pharisee, wrapped in his mantle of self-righteousness.
It is here that the churches have utterly failed. There is much spiritual virtue and force in every church; but their structure is a hard-and-fast one, inherited from the past. They have served well, and are still of inestimable benefit to those within the sphere of their influence; but the age has passed beyond them; and the modern mind is closed to their message. “This has ceased to be a Christian nation,” sadly declared the rector of Trinity parish, New York City, in a recent utterance; and he proceeded to point out that only forty per cent of the present population was even nominally affiliated with organized Christianity. That huge deductions must be made from this forty per cent of nominal Christians, is only too painfully apparent. That with a vast multitude church
membership means only social standing, respectability, conformity to what is expected by family or environment, economic advantage, automatic following of custom, political ambition and the like, rather than an essential spiritual conviction and a determination to live one’s life basically in the spirit of love to God and devoted service to man, is beyond question.
The church has a tremendous work to do in arousing the dormant spirituality of millions within its own ranks; but the huger millions of unchurched have passed permanently beyond its reach. Evangelism has proved pitifully powerless to stem the tide, even where its methods have been above reproach, as has unfortunately not always been the case. The world awaits new methods, a new spirit pulsing with a deeper life than it has known. “Man’s necessity is God’s opportunity.” It is never by accident that a Divine Manifestation arises in one age rather than another. A new Dispensation is decreed in the divine councils, not because the former Dispensations have failed, but because they have succeeded.
The divine plan never fails; but it requires new steps, as the world becomes prepared for larger expressions and applications of the one eternally true message. The mission of Jesus was inaugurated at the precise moment when the old world was breaking up, and when all things were becoming unsettled, and the hearts of men were crying out in agony for a light to illumine their darkness, in which they were writhing and perishing. The Messenger of the present day has arisen in an epoch when all things are again becoming new, and when the intellects of men, baffled and bewildered by their own gigantic discoveries and inventions, have vainly sought satisfaction in the tenets and the forms
which were sufficient for their fathers.
Hence the Message of our day is a majestic synthesis of all the truths revealed in the preceding revelations, together with clear and comprehensive applications of the principles of spiritual truth to the needs and the problems of the whole world of humanity. It offers a firm foothold
for the restless spirit of inquiry, and meets the challenge of skeptical investigation with patient and lucid exposition as satisfying to the pure reason as its marvelous vision of Divine Glory is inspiring to the spirit of religious emotion. The altar to the Unknown God is no longer vacant, but is radiant with celestial glory.
The following compilation has been made from reports furnished by Miss Agnes Alexander, Bahá’í teacher, new resident in Tokyo. Miss Alexander lived and served in Japan for seven years, and recently returned to that country after an absence of two years. Her understanding and appreciation of “The Oneness of Mankind,” a fundamental principle of the Bahá’í Teachings, makes her an ardent admirer of the innate qualities and capacity of the Japanese, as well as all other peoples in the world.—Editor.
EXPERIMENTS furthering the art of friendliness are taking place continually in various parts of the world, and many of them result in advancement along those ideal lines which, eventually, will lead to Peace.
“There is an emanation of the universal consciousness today,” said ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “which clearly indicates the dawn of a great unity.” All programs stressing the idea of “Getting On Together,” or relating universal ideals to the daily living, are fulfilling the law of God, for, quoting ’Abdu’l-Bahá—
“Whatsoever is conducive to unity is merciful and from the divine bounty itself.”
And again He said:
“It is God’s Will that the differences between nations should disappear. Those who help on the cause of unity are doing God’s work. Unity is the Divine Bounty for this luminous century.”
The countries bordering the Pacific have made notable progress the past few years in understanding relationships, and the youth of these countries, particularly, are beginning
to realize the utter futility of ignorant prejudices, and are developing a universal consciousness.
In all of His Writings on the establishment of universal ideals, ’Abdu’l-Bahá emphasized repeatedly the necessity for the acceptance, first, of the principle of “The Oneness of Mankind.” He even included it in one of the three cardinal principles which He recommended be taught in all the universities and colleges of the world, for this is what He said:
“Service to the oneness of the world of humanity; so that each student may consciously realize that he is a brother to all mankind, irrespective of religion or race. The thoughts of universal peace must be instilled in the minds of all the scholars, in order that they may become the armies of peace, the real servants of the body politic—the world. God is the Father of all. Mankind are His children. This globe is one home. Nations are the members of one family.”
One of the most intelligent and constructive methods designed to convey friendly feelings and which
concentrates the thought of the masses on the subject, is the oratorical contest and debating carried on by students of different countries. The oratorical contest between Hawaiian and Japanese students which took place recently in Tokyo, is a notable example as especially related to the subject of a better understanding between the races. It is interesting to note the splendid subjects
chosen by the enlightened students who were fortunate enough to contribute a part to a program so alive with a friendly purpose. The following excerpts from the Honolulu and Tokyo papers give the interesting details of a good-will tour, financed by the Pan-Pacific Union, on condition that the Hawaiian team include a representative of each of the three leading racial groups:
THREE young men, two of Oriental descent, one Anglo-Saxon, who for excellence in oratory have been selected by the University of Hawaii to go to Japan and compete in an oratorical contest, spoke briefly at the Pan-Pacific luncheon Monday. Clean, clear thinkers, they delivered their convictions convincingly. And those convictions were that racial prejudices disappeared when races commingled as they do in Hawaii.
These young men, going to the Orient, will tell those people the truth about Hawaii. In their college classes they have worked and studied, side by side with students of several nationalities. “We room together and never think of racial antagonism,” said one. The others were likewise emphatic on this side of the racial question.
Hawaii might well send a hundred such well-poised students around the world to tell how here under a tropic sky the racial question is being solved without any attempt to solve it. The story of Charles Lamb applies exactly in this case. “I hate that man,” he said. “How can you hate him?” said one. “You don’t even know him.” “That’s just it,” said Lamb. “If I knew him I could not hate him.”
Those three young students are going to bear an important message
to the world.—Editorial, Honolulu Advertiser.THE VISITING debating team from the University of Hawaii will have its first battle of words here at 7 o’clock this evening when it meets a trio of Tokyo University students at the Asahi auditorium. The American debaters are Mr. Walter Yoshito Mihata, Mr. Dai Ho Chun and Mr. J. Stowell Wright. Tokyo will be represented by Mr. Takizo Matsumoto, of Meiji University; Mr. Isamu Shimidzu, of Keio University; and Mr. Noboru Aoki, of Waseda University.
These men were chosen recently after an elimination contest here.
Although the meeting is being operated as a contest between the Hawaii and Tokyo students, it is primarily arranged as a medium through which the students of the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean can meet together and express frankly their views on the problems of the Pacific and how best a lasting peace can be brought about.
The Hawaiian team consists of
Walter Mihata, Japanese, and Ah-Hochum, Chinese, both from the island of Hawaii, and J. Stowell Wright, Honolulu. All are American citizens and undergradutes of the University of Hawaii.
Mihata, the leader of the team, and Chun are products of the local school system and speak English. Mihata is practicing speaking Japanese in his home, so he will have enough to make himself understood. Chun expects to find his Chinese inadequate in the Canton of his ancestors if he goes outside the English-speaking part of town.
The team plans an oratorical contest in Tokyo and debates in Shanghai, Hongkong, Canton, and the Philippines. The three students are among the foremost undergraduates of the university, which has an enrollment of 700. Mihata and Chun debated the team of the University of Oregon, which visited Honolulu last year. Wright is a former editor of Ka Leo, Hawaii, the university newspaper.
Mihata has just been commissioned a second lieutenant in the Officers’ Reserve Corps of the United States Army. The university is
made up of about an equal number of white students, Chinese, and Japanese.
Mr. Noboru Aoki, of Tokyo, will be the first speaker, using as his subject, “The Pacific, Will It Divide or Unite Us?” Mr. Dai Ho Chun, the Chinese representative from Honolulu, will follow, speaking on “Understanding America.” Mr. Osamu Shimizu, of Tokyo, will be the third on the program, speaking on “Young Japan’s Viewpoint on the Pacific.” He will be followed by Mr. J. Stowell Wright, the Anglo-Saxon member of the Hawaiian team, using as his subject “Reconciliation of Japan and America.”
Mr. Takizo Matsumoto will be the final speaker for Tokyo, using as his subject “Cosmopolitan or War.” Mr. Walter Mihata, captain of the Hawaiian team, will end the program, speaking on “Americans of Japanese Ancestry.”
The purpose of the trip, in addition to that of establishing forensic relations between the universities of the Orient and Hawaii, is to convey a friendly greeting from Honolulu across the Pacific.—Japan Advertiser, Tokyo.
racial, patriotic or political, are destructive to the foundations of human development. Prejudices of any kind are the destroyers of human happiness and welfare. Until they are dispelled the advancement of the world of humanity is not possible, yet racial, religious and national bias are observed everywhere. For thousands of years the world of humanity has been agitated and disturbed by prejudices. As long as it prevails, warfare, animosity and hatred will continue. Therefore if we seek to establish peace we must cast aside this obstacle, for otherwise agreement and
composure are not to be attained.”—’Abdu’l-Bahá.
INFUSION OF religious feeling into the student is one of the primary duties of colleges, in the opinion of Dean Shailer Mathews of the University of Chicago.
Freshmen’s religious and other values which they bring with them to college are being undermined by “scientific freedom of thought” and are not replaced by any higher values, Dean Mathews said yesterday at the Institute for Administrative Officers of Institutions of Higher Learning.
Establishment of non-sectarian religious centers in colleges and classes in religious history and psychology was advocated by the Chicago dean. —Evening Star, Washington, D. C.
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES are more and more inconvenienced by the language difficulty. It is therefore not at all astonishing that increasing interest is taken in international circles in Esperanto. It is regarded as a means of remedying an insurmountable obstacle.
The congress of the World Federation of Educational Societies, held in Toronto last August, unanimously adopted a resolution relating to the employment of the auxiliary language in congresses and instructed a committee to make a thorough study of the problem.
The Committee of the Union of Bulgarian railwaymen published in its official organ in December, 1927, a decision of the Union in the following terms: The Union decides—
(a) To introduce in its organ a column relating to Esperanto with a view to interesting its members in the study of the language and informing its colleagues abroad of the principal results of its activity;
(b) At the earliest possible date
to employ Esperanto as the sole language for international correspondence with the office of the Union.
The Hungarian section of the Touring Association “Lovers of Nature” adopted at its annual meeting in Budapest in February, 1928, a resolution:
(1) To recommend to the next international congress of the Lovers of Nature the study of Esperanto by all its members.
(2) The opening of Esperanto courses in all the groups and sections.
(3) The use of Esperanto for organizing relations with foreign groups.
(4) The introduction of a regular Esperanto column in the official organ.—Amerika Esperantisto for June.
“THE REAL fatherland is not merely the spot where one was born, not one’s own town, county, State, or nation, but the whole sphere, or better still the entire universe. Any rational patriotism should enhance one’s understanding of the globe and its population, and not restrict it. Both the education attempted in schools and that which comes from experience are intended to enlarge this understanding and thus to enable one not only to adapt himself to his environment, but to prove some command over it.
“How can the child be helped to think in larger terms than the old merely national sense of patriotism while he develops this adaptation to and command over environment? To the small child the world is so limited that his first loyalty is necessarily to his own impressions and reactions. Then, in line with the usual
procedure, he extends his loyalty to his own family, his own home, his own backyard, street or neighborhood, to his own town or city, and finally to the nation. Yet the nation should not be the end. Every country in the world is dependent to some extent on every other country. The study of geography, therefore, early undertaken by the child, even before he is called upon to consider it in school, should be encouraged on as international basis as possible.”—Gustavus S. Paine, in July Children.
“IT HAS BEEN a source of gratification to me to note the steady progress in Palestine. The increase in population, the great development in agriculture and industry, the establishment of health-centers, the renaissance of the Hebrew language, the founding of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus—have gained the admiration of the entire world.
“This steady progress of Zionism has served to remind us of the scientific truth that no one race or people has a monopoly of greatness. Each nation has a right on its own soil to work out its own destiny, to live a normal and healthy life, and to seek and to find the true fundamental values of life. The greatest progress of mankind we know, will not come from the monotonous uniformity of any single civilization, but rather through the richest harmony of many civilizations. We hope that in the symphony of nations Israel may produce its own precious note.”—The New Palestine.
“IN THE TANG dynasty,” said Dr. Lyon, “we find that there was a sentence like this: ‘The world is one family in which China is one person.’ It may not be known to all of you that Confucius conceived of society as having three stages of evolution: first, the barbaric stage; secondly,
what you call the ‘stage of small tranquility,’ and, thirdly, the stage of the ‘great fellowship.’
“Now of these three stages through which society must pass Confucius said the world had already reached the second stage.
“Now, what did he mean by the Great Fellowship? I want to first quote from what he himself said:
“‘When the Great Fellowship becomes effective, all men everywhere will live for the common good; leaders of worth and ability will be selected; their words will be trusted and they will become makers of peace. They will provide sustenance to the aged as long as they live, employment to the able-bodied, opportunity for development to the young, friendly care for widows, orphans, childless men and the disabled; for each man a task and for each woman a home.’
“The present significance of this idea has been put into very concise form by a modern Chinese scholar whom I hold in high regard, a man who lives in Shanghai and who I know quite intimately. He says:
“‘The Great Fellowship means a social order in which every individual will have an equal opportunity to share the necessities of existence and to enjoy the good things of life. In man’s relation to fellow man it emphasizes fair dealing, each person having an equal chance under the sun. It presupposes liberty, equality, and fraternity and has as its good the greatest good for the greatest number. The method for attaining this condition is not by force or aggression, but by moral influence. When one nation has attained that stage then it is her duty to take the next step and help every other nation enjoy the blessings she enjoys.’”—Dr. D. Willard Lyon, in the Japan Advertiser, Tokyo.
