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| VOL. 20 | MARCH, 1930 | NO. 12 |
| Page | |
Riches and Poverty, ’Abdu’l-Bahá | 354 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 355 |
The Naval Conference, Annie B. Romer | 357 |
Spiritual Freedom, Genevieve L. Coy | 359 |
An Audience With King Faisal, Martha L. Root | 365 |
The Great Change, Leslie R. Hawthorn | 368 |
A Jewish Martyr, Dr. Walter B. Guy | 374 |
The Basis of Bahá’i Belief, Chapter 2, Part 2, “Tales of the Past,” Keith Ransom-Kehler | 376 |
The Living Cup, a Poem, Janet Bolton | 379 |
Spiritual Springtime, Dr. Orrol L. Harper | 380 |
World Thought and Progress | 383 |
later co-operation of Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi; preserved, fostered and by them turned over to the National Spiritual Assembly, with all valuable
assets, as a gift of love to the Cause of God.STANWOOD COBB | Editor |
MARIAM HANEY | Associate Editor |
MARGARET B. MCDANIEL | Business Manager |
Subscriptions: $3.00 per year; 25 cents a copy. Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year. Please send change of address by the middle of the month and be sure to send OLD as well as NEW address. Kindly send all communications and make postoffice orders and checks payable to Baha'i News Service, 1112 Shoreham 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.
THE arrangements of the circumstances of the people must be such that poverty shall disappear, that everyone, as far as possible, according to his rank and position, shall share in comfort and well-being. We see among us men who are overburdened with riches on the one hand, and on the other those unfortunate ones who starve with nothing; those who possess several stately palaces, and those who have not where to lay their head . . . This condition of affairs is wrong, and must be remedied. Now the remedy must be carefully undertaken. It cannot be done by bringing to pass absolute equality between men. Equality is a chimera! It is entirely impracticable. Even if equality could be achieved it could not continue; and if its existence were possible, the whole order of the world would be destroyed. . . . Certainly, some being enormously rich and others lamentably poor, an organization is necessary to control and improve this state of affairs. It is important to limit riches, as it is also of importance to limit poverty. Either extreme is not good. . . .
“There must be special laws made, dealing with these extremes of riches and want. . . . The government of the countries should conform to the Divine Law which gives equal justice to all. . . . Not until this is done will the Law of God be obeyed.”
Editorial Note: The Bahá’i teachings not only condemns poverty in the specific words of Bahá’u’lláh and 'Abdu’l-Bahá, but contains also economic laws that, when made effective, will completely abolish poverty.
| VOL. 20 | MARCH, 1930 | NO. 12 |
starvation, it is a sure sign that somewhere we shall find tyranny. Men must bestir themselves in this matter and no longer delay in altering conditions which bring the misery of grinding poverty to a very large number of people.”
AN OPTIMISTIC IMPRESSION exists that the machine, doing the work of man and infinitely expanding his power of creating goods, together with improved science of agriculture further mechanized, will result in abolishing poverty from the world.
This will result, however, only if methods of distribution improve pari passu with methods of production. Not only the methods but the goals of distribution must change.
How can we speak of over-production of wheat, corn, fruit, while thousands in this country go hungry? Of over-production of cotton or wool while thousands shiver for lack of warm clothing? Of over-building of homes when millions want for adequate shelter? Of over-production of goods when the lives of the masses are still far too meager and bare for want of these same goods?
How is it that it is found necessary to curtail production—to lessen the application of labor to human needs in factory and farm—when human needs still exist to that desperate degree which we call poverty?
Something is wrong in our economic concepts, something fatally lacking in economic organization, if with all the wealth with which modern technology offers to shower us, production is stopped short at the point where it could and would easily eliminate poverty from our social system.
The reason that production flags just at the point where it would do the most good is apparent. The boundary line is one drawn not by necessary laws of human organization but by that inherent greed which causes man to adapt his efforts solely to monitary considerations. The point at which the masses cease to be able to pay for goods is the exact point where factories shut down, wheels stop revolving, and farmers plow under their crops for fertilization rather than attempt to harvest and market them. Human effort stops, idleness halts production of necessities, yet everywhere are people in desperate want. This is an amazing situation! It is not completely remedied by social service organizations and community chests.
It can be remedied only by a complete revision of human organization, by means of which the public as a whole effects to guarantee the necessary means of livelihood to every member in it, exerting all its joint and cooperative powers toward this end and never desisting from productive labor till the essential needs of all, both high and low, are met.
THIS IS MERELY carrying the Golden Rule over from the individual to the collective life of humanity. It is merely practicing in an organized way that Charity which, I take it, was the main purport of Christ’s mission here on earth. Fully established, it would be identical with that Kingdom of God which all the Prophets preached.
Yet up to date human society has conceived no practicable way of abolishing poverty.
Said Senator Smoot recently from the floor of the Senate: “The unfortunate conditions in our great cities make it necessary to have tenement houses and make it necessary for people to live as they do. I wish to God that they did not have to live as they do, but civilization as we have it today and the congestion of the people in great centers have brought it about, and I do not know how it is going to be avoided. I have thought of that condition a dozen times or more. . . . I have never been able to figure out how we are ever going to rectify the conditions under our present civilization, so called.” Smoot’s preplexity is no greater than that of other men
who have given thought to the same thing through the centuries.
But Bahá’u’lláh, laying down the laws for the divine civilization of the future, provides for the complete abolition of that degree of economic distress which we call poverty.
IN THE BAHA’I STATE, just as it is the duty of the individual to support the government, so it is the duty of the government to support the individual. Graduated income taxes based on excess of income over actual needs on the part of the fortunate and prosperous provide an ample fund from which excess of actual needs over income is met on the part of the unable and unfortunate.
Thus will the divine civilization of the future eliminate from human life the last of the wild beasts—the wolf at the door. Those who have known desperate economic circumstances will appreciate what it will mean to live in a society so cooperative that no single individual in it has ever to face the cosmos alone and unaided.
The great Fear that haunts the lives of the majority of people—Fear of failure and of want—will give place to universal faith and confidence when the pooled energy, ability, and resources of humanity lie at the disposal of every individual. Never again then will any human soul need to face a gaunt and desperate universe naked and unarmed and unbefriended.
LONDON’S Bahá’i Community has had the high privilege during these last weeks of close touch with one of the greatest world peace movements in history.
The experience has been a thrilling one to the believers who see working in the efforts of the statesmen from East and West assembled here the vivifying spirit of the age ushered into being by the new revelation of God through Bahá’u’lláh, with its dominant note the unification of mankind and the establishment of the Most Great Peace.
The thrill has been the greater from the fact that it is London, Capital of an Empire founded upon predominant sea power, that has supplied the setting for a Conference the avowed purpose of which was to score an advance toward that general world disarmament which Bahá'u’lláh foretold, by first eliminating competition in naval armaments among the world’s great sea powers.
It may be that by the time this sees the light, that purpose will have been accomplished and the mandate of the peoples of the nations behind the Five Power Naval Conference will have been fulfilled by their delegates signing a treaty binding the Powers to definite restrictions in the size and equipment of their navies. This seemed a not impossible prospect when these lines were penned in mid-February.
But there have been hopes that the Conference would go much further
and prescribe such a course of naval pruning as to cause the reduction of the world’s armed sea forces to a point where they would represent little more than an effective naval constabulary to preserve world orderliness in the same way that a city police force is maintained to keep order in a municipality.
Such an achievement, at least, has not been too much to pray for, and no less an ideal has been in the minds and hearts of the devout petitioners that divine guidance might lead the conferees to a supreme height of accomplishment.
Certainly those who have been sensing not only the material but the ethical and spiritual import of this Conference have been hoping and praying fervently that at least there should be no failure in its first important purpose, and that, if more could not be accomplished through the present instrumentality, it would have pointed the way to greater peace achievements through the lessons it has taught the watching world.
The first three weeks of the Conference, just completed as this was written, showed the conferees moving cautiously, with evident desire not to tread upon each other’s toes, as if they realized the danger of provoking a disharmony among them which would make it impossible to realize fully the world-wide mandate given them, not only to restrict the floating arm of world armaments but to reduce it to a
point where the possibility of another war breaking out through sea-power rivalry would be practically precluded.
There were signs at this stage of the Conference, however, that the period of comparatively smooth sailing might be over and that stormier seas were about to be encountered. Noble, disinterested and far-seeing as were the purposes of President Hoover and Prime Minister Ramsey Macdonald in bringing this Conference together, influences were at work in and about it such as to cause fears that if these influences were not combatted by other and higher forces the accomplishments of the Conference would rest upon the minimum level instead of trending well up toward the maximum of what it might achieve.
The prayers of all of us have been that the Conference might be lifted up to an even higher plane than that upon which it has thus far been traveling so that the highest ultimate good to world peace should result.
This is written in no spirit of pessimism as to the outcome, or even of disparagement of what the Naval Conference has done to date. The general feeling here has been that the utter failure of the parley was unthinkable. But the higher hope has persisted that the world’s spiritual forces would be stirred to such an intensity—be so focussed upon this gathering that it would find their mighty impulse inescapable and would transcend even the highest hopes for its success.
While the diplomats have been consulting in the historic precincts of lovely old St. James’s Palace,
the peace lovers have worked steadily on to further the Cause of Peace in the hearts and minds of the people. Public opinion was moulded into the thought of peace. Countless prayers were said to the One True God for peace; many societies sent forth leaflets advocating peace and showing the stupidity of squandering the world’s wealth on implements of war; people have been discussing disarmament, and as if to form a background of realistic horror the world has been flooded with stories of the recent war. So terrible are some of these, and so harrowing, that they are the best peace propaganda possible.
High above all the stirrings of conscience and spirit ring the beautiful promises of Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá, and a special effort has been made to disseminate these teachings on Peace at this time. The following words were printed for general distribution:
“From now on lesser and lesser will be the magic spell of war; greater and greater will be the influence of peace. The day is coming when the dove of peace shall reign over all the continents, the laws of peace shall rule all the nations, and the resources of war will be expended on that which will be conducive to the spiritualization of mankind.
The law of peace has come to stay. We are living in the radiant age of peace. The angels of peace are hovering above our heads. We are daily advancing in the path of peace. The army of peace is being recruited from among all nations and peoples. Let the peacemakers know that the unconquerable power of God is behind them.”
FOR some months my friends and I have been interested in discussing questions concerning spiritual freedom. We hear much talk about freedom in the world about us; we read much of the new freedoms of this age. Is this freedom of which we hear a spiritual freedom? Every day we meet people who are so obviously in slavery to a prejudice, to a fear, to a jealousy, to a long-cherished anger. Do they know by what bonds they are held? Do they care to be free? When we analyze our own conduct we often have to say to our hearts, “You would do that one worthwhile, constructive thing which you are shirking, if you were free from such and such a binding fear.“ And if one desires freedom sufficiently, there must be a way for one to attain it. Therefore we have asked ourselves the questions, “What are some of the common attitudes which interfere with growth toward freedom of the spirit? What ideas, feelings and experiences will help us to make more rapid progress toward that true freedom we desire?”
One of the attitudes of mind which most interferes with spiritual freedom is our extreme dependence on the approval of others. W. L. Comfort describes this as “the dark slavery of the opinions of others.” We often see clearly what is the right path for us to follow to gain a worthy end, but then there rises that satanic whisper, “What would people say? Mrs. J. would think you were quite crazy if you did that! Your friend Mary would misunderstand you.” And so we
try to convince ourselves that another course would serve the purpose just as well.
Once at Green Acre I heard Mrs. Stirling tell the story of a monk, Brother Timothy. He went to his Superior and said, “Reverend Sir, will you please explain to me what is meant by being ‘dead to praise and blame’?“ His Superior replied, “Later I will tell you. Now I have a task for you. You remember Brother John who died a month ago is buried in the garden. I wish you to spend an hour by his grave, saying aloud all the kindest things you can about him. Praise his kindness, his gentleness, his industry. At the end of the hour return to me.” The monk, according to his training, asked no questions, but did as he was told. When he returned at the end of the hour, his Superior said, “Now spend another hour by the grave of Brother John, but this time say all the uncomplimentary things you can think of. Recall some of his little pettinesses. Make up unkind remarks, if need be.” Brother Timothy, in some distress of spirit, carried out this instruction. When he came to his Superior’s presence again, he was asked, “What did Brother John say or do when you praised him?” In surprise the monk replied, “Nothing, Father!” “Then what did he do when you censured him”! Surely there must have been some answer to that!” “No, Father, none! How could there be? Brother John is dead!” “That, my son, is the explanation you sought. Brother John is dead to praise and
blame. It makes no difference to him. Strive you to attain such a state that you also, though you still walk on this earth, may be dead to praise and blame.”
Such an ideal of freedom from the approval and disapproval of others does not mean that we should fail to consider the advice of others, or that we should wantonly ignore the ideals and sensibilities of our friends and acquaintances. It does mean that when we have obtained all the data on a given problem, prayerfully considered it and decided on a course of action, we should pursue it regardless of the praise or blame that may come to us. This is a high and difficult ideal.
ANOTHER HINDRANCE to true freedom is one that is closely related to the foregoing. It consists in trying to be what one is not. By this I do not mean, of course, an endeavor to grow up to one’s highest ideal of one’s true self. I mean trying to be the sort of person God never meant one to be. Each of us has an individuality which we often fail to cultivate. We see another person whom we admire and we say within ourselves, “What a fine person! That is just what I will be like, so help me God!” And we set out to build ourselves to some one else’s pattern! We are like the little pine tree that sighed for golden leaves, all unmindful of the gift it had for the world in its long, evergreen needles. Sometimes this desire to be what one is not is a conscious posing, a desire to deceive others. More often it is a sincere longing for a real good—but one that is not ours. How can we find freedom in struggling to be another? In his
truly creative book, “Creative Power,” Hughes Mearns writes “That powerful rebel within us which never really succumbs to circumstance, that creator, who may fashion miracles out of the dust of the earth, that, I often fancy, is the image God created in His own likeness. God, I think, does not fail; it is we who continually miss His meaning.”
We would all admit that one of the most insidious hindrances to spiritual freedom lies in our fears. At a luncheon in honor of his seventieth birthday, Dr. John Dewey spoke of the things that interfere with true happiness. Among the most serious of such hindrances he mentioned fear,—anything which intereferes with an outgoing, open-armed attitude toward life and people. There are so many kinds of fears that keep one from freedom that only a few may be mentioned here. The ever-present, all-pervading fear of what others will think of us has already been mentioned. Another fear which is a black wave, threatening the joy of millions, is fear for one’s material future. This is often so deeply and thoroughly instilled during childhood that the grown man can never free himself from its shadow. He is so intent on making old age secure that he suddenly finds himself aged before he has taken time to realize the beauty of life. He has failed to understand the words of the Master Christ, “Consider the lilies of the field. . . . Take no thought for the morrow,”—words which Kahlil Gibran has so finely interpreted:—“Go forth in your longing to the fields, and sit by the lilies, and you shall hear them humming in the sun.
They weave not cloth or raiment, nor do they raise wood or stone for shelter, yet they sing. He who works in the night fulfills their needs and the dew of His grace is upon their petals. And are not you also His care, who never wearies nor rests? . . . Be not heedful of the morrow, but rather gaze upon today, for sufficient for today is the miracle thereof.”
Those who have a wealth of material possessions fear the loss of them. All the habits of their lives are so closely bound up with things, that they think life would fall to ruin should these possessions be taken from them. Was it to teach us how to meet the loss of material things that Bahá’u’lláh traveled that long, swift road from the luxury of a Persian palace to the squalor of a Persian prison?
Another fear that destroys half the creative power in the world is the one that modern psychologists have labelled the feeling of inferiority. We measure ourselves against others, and think, “What a no-acccount person I must seem! I can’t achieve anything great! Why couldn’t I have charm and wit like his? I’ll just keep quiet and not do anything and maybe no one will notice how stupid I am.” And of course the person with whom we are comparing ourselves may be thinking identical thoughts! Such an attitude is obvious lack of faith. God somehow made a mistake when He created our spirits; He surely should have made each bird a lark, each flower a rose! We fail to prize our own gifts, which God would help us build into beauty if we could follow His guidance.
There are others who fear death,–“the
breathless darkness and the narrow tomb.” For one who believes that this earth-life destroys the existence of man, death is perhaps a justifiable fear. Such an one must take what dry comfort he can from philosophizing that the law of nature is birth, life, death, and then other creatures moving through the same cycle. But to one who knows that each soul is indestructible,—a single element which cannot be decomposed, death should be no source of fear. It is the door into our next school-room, the narrow valley that leads to a more glorious height and a wider vision.
Our human loves and affections often delay our progress on the way to spiritual freedom. Whenever we desire to possess those we love, we lose our freedom. Mr. Comfort has expressed this fact vividly in the following sentences, “To be free—that is to be irresistible. Do you want love? You only spoil it when you stipulate what the return shall be. . . . The great love is giving: great love is incandescence.” The same idea has been expressed in some of the great poetry of the world. In Tagore’s poem in “The Gardener,” we find this simple expression of a great truth:
“Why did the flower fade?
I pressed it to my heart with anxious love, that is why the flower faded.
“Why did the stream dry up?
I put a dam across it to have it for my use, that is why the stream dried up.”
Not only do we lose the best of our friends when we try to possess them. We make for ourselves chains of doubt and fear, and until
they are broken, we have no power to move forward.
How shall we build for freedom in the most constructive way possible? Spiritual freedom is the attainment of a life time—perhaps of eternity. It is an ideal that moves before us as we go forward. But each day may see us a little way ahead, if we consciously work for it.
How shall we become free from too much attention to the opinions of others? I believe there is only one sure way to such freedom. Let us say to ourselves, “What would the Master think about that? What would the Master do under those circumstances?” If we earnestly try to do what He would do, the only approval we need seek is His approval; the only censure we need dread is our own inner conviction that we have done something the Master could not praise. In our fellowship with Him we find freedom from “the dark slavery of the opinions of others.” In “The Mysterious Forces of Civilization” ’Abdu’l-Bahá has written this illuminating sentence, “For I, a wanderer in the wilderness of God’s love, have strayed into a world wherein censure and praise, appreciation and contumely are of little worth.” No one who has realized the divine assurance of ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s living can doubt that praise and blame were “of little worth” to Him.
How shall we win free from our slavery to fear? First, we need to realize that fear is always a destroyer and never a builder. This is true even in the physical sense. It seems to be certain that fear is a physical depressant. Extreme fear brings about bodily reactions which
may cause chronic illness. Fear never produces joy; its result is always unhappiness. Comfort writes, “Fear is a waster and diminisher of beauty—and it can be mastered.” Fear is due in the main to lack of spiritual perspective. Let us learn to live in eternity—not in time—and our fears will disappear and leave us free men. The lives of all the Prophets of God are radiant examples of fearlessness. Again, we find that the surest way to freedom is constant companionship with one of these divine Teachers who never knew fear. Thus we learn the truth of the words, “Perfect love casteth out fear.”
The lives of the members of ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s family in Haifa give us an example of how affection for individuals can become a part of a larger, freer life of the spirit. There we find no lack of warm, human love, but it never stands in the way of a deep appreciation and understanding of all that is beautiful and lovable in the world. We learn there that freedom in personal love comes in and through the love of the Divine. Two people who love one another can grow together in freedom when there is a mystic Third to Whom their united devotion is given. We may count it an axiom of the spiritual life that no one who is truly free can ever desire to interfere with the liberty of another.
What other attitudes of mind and spirit are there which will help us not to lose the freedom we have and help us gain more freedom? I believe that one’s daily work may contribute to spiritual freedom, if one knows the secret of making it do so. If our work is significant, if we feel
that it has a true value to society, it should give us buoyant power. In one of the most valuable books given us by modern psychology, “The Normal Mind,“ by W. H. Burnham, we read, “The essentials without which a person cannot be quite sound mentally, and with which, apart from accident, infection or heredity, one can have no serious mental disorder-the absolutely essential conditions are these: a plan, a task, freedom. . . . The greatest thing for an individual, the ordinary man, or man of talent, or even the genius, is some great task worth while as a life work.”
IF ONE SEES ONE’S WORK as having real value in the social order, it should take one out of one’s narrow self, and thus become a liberating experience. This does not mean that one’s work need to be spectacular or widely known. A mother who sympathetically and understandingly cares for her children, a workman who does honest work, a salesman who sincerely strives to serve his customer’s needs, a teacher who tries to develop the best in her children—all these are giving the world something of which it is in need. Work should be a glorifying and liberating thing to them.
“All effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship,” said ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity.”
One of the great social tasks of the future is to help every person find work that shall be for him the right work—work that is truly constructive in the material and spiritual civilization of our highest ideals.
A true sense of humor may often lead us a long way toward freedom. We need to learn most of all to laugh at ourselves. The over-serious person usually lacks a proper perspective on himself and on life. We should never forget ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s ringing sentence, “My home is the home of joy and delight; my home is the home of laughter and exultation.” We have no right to sadden others by our own depression. We do have a positive duty to add to the joy and happiness of those about us.
Another road to freedom lies in holding clearly in our minds and hearts a great ideal for the world. Let us think carefully about the next step in the life of society, and then try to help make that thing a reality. Dr. Dewey says, “To be free is to know what you are doing.” As Bahá’is we do know what we desire for the world. If we keep these goals always before us, and work toward them, we cannot fail to grow into freedom.
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” We know the deepest truths of life through the lives of the great Prophets, the Manifestations of God. The surest path to spiritual freedom, in its many phases, lies in following the example of a great Master. To know Him and love Him more and more each day is a guarantee of growth into freedom. We need to realize His love for us, also,—and we shall gradually win to a companionship with Him so joyful, so comforting, so inspiring that we shall truly desire to be free as He is free. Should all other paths to freedom seem closed, fellowship with the Master, the Spirit of God, will liberate us from the “only prison, the prison of self.”
--PHOTO--
His Majesty King Faisal of 'Iráq. (See opposite page.)
’Iráq, better known to the western world as the ancient land of Mesopotamia, the site of the great Babylonian Empire, is making great progress toward modernization under its enlightened Ruler, King Faisal. Due to having recently become the chief route of commerce and travel from the Mediterranean to Persia,—with this automobile traffic and motor travel there has also infiltrated into the land much urge toward modern ways. Education is making great strides. Over two hundred students from ’Iráq attend the American University at Beirut, thirty-five of whom are maintained at Government expense. This new nation is one of the most progressively inclined of all Islamic countries.
JANUARY second, 1930, I had the great honor to be received by His most gracious Majesty King Faisal of ’Iráq. The meeting took place at 9:45 o’clock in the morning, in his beautiful Secretariate in Baghdad. I had come through the main thoroughfares of this colorful, interesting city where the tenth and the twentieth centuries, medievalism and the last word in modernity supplement each other. No city could be more thrilling to tourists than Baghdad. Its very name will interest you; it used to be called Dar es-Salaam which translated into English means “City of Peace.” This name is prophetic, for in the centuries ahead Baghdad is going to play a great role in universal peace—but that is not this story.
As the swift motor car turned into the Royal tropical gardens, aeroplanes circled high in the heavens overhead, while the great palm gardens themselves were carpeted with thousands of low-growing chrysanthemums in every tone of yellow and bronze, and mingled with these were many roses. The large long-extending one story building, a European designed structure, was enhanced with great columns of beautiful Mosul marble—(Mosul as you may know was the Ninevah of
Biblical days). The whole Secretariate with its gardens was situated on the Tigris River, and it is not very far from the historic Ridván Garden where Bahá’u’lláh declared His Mission in 1863.
Although the writer was fifteen minutes ahead of the hour for this interview, His Majesty King Faisal who is very prompt, a man who works with tremendous energy and devotion to his people, had already arrived. He said he would receive the visitor immediately, so the early comer had the favor of a longer audience. The writer was shown into a richly furnished drawing-room perfect in appointments. It was London’s best, with marvelous furniture and eastern rugs whose designs and colors made one wonder if Babylon left these as a rare remembrance of the glory of ancient Mesopotamia, the land we now call ’Iráq.
His Majesty the King, dressed in the conventional morning suit and with uncovered head, did not sit upon a throne; he came forward and extended his hand in greeting with a friendliness which showed he is the highest representative of Arab refinement which has come down to us through all the centuries from his glorious ancestor the Prophet of Arabia. For this cultured
King is a direct descendant of Muhammad; he is the son of the Sherif of Mecca, ex-King Hussein of the Hedjaz. His Majesty King Faisal is very handsome, a man not yet in the fifties. He has a most deep and striking expression for his soul has lived and learned and trusted God. He is very bright, very cultured and very charming. It was not a solemn, ultraformal interview, he was very dignified but smiling, gracious, and like a true statesman he concentrated to give his best thought. He was democratic and he stands ready to serve mankind.
The writer knew that he met ’Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa, Palestine, and so, after giving to His Majesty the warm greetings of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause, and the salutations of all the family of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, her first question was: “What was your impression of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, Center of the Covenant of the Bahá’i Movement?” Thoughtfully His Majesty replied: “’Abbas Effendi, for that was the name I always used in speaking with ’Abdu’l-Bahá, impressed me as a very great, intelligent, wise man. I had great respect for him because he was working for the welfare of all humanity. I met him just ten years ago, in 1920, in Haifa, Palestine.”
As His Majesty is a very busy man with ten people to see in the next hour, most of whom are diplomats,—the journalist tried to be concise in her questions, and in replying King Faisal was considerate, frank and gracious in his attitude.
His Majesty said that he certainly
believes in the harmony and co-operation of peoples of all religions. He explained that in ’Iráq this cooperation may be realized even before it is in other countries because evolution here is very rapid. He says this religious world unity may arise here much sooner than we think!
We spoke of ’Iráq and the League of Nations. His Majesty King Faisal says that the British Government has made a definite promise that ’Iráq shall enter the League in 1932, and he believes this promise will be fulfilled absolutely.
The writer asked him if he believes in an Arab United States, and he replied that it is the ideal of every true Arab.
“What is ’Iráq’s aim for universal peace?” His Majesty’s answer was: “’Iráq cannot play a great role in universal peace at present. The important thing she can do is to keep unity in her own domains, maintain good relations with all her neighbors, and work hard to develop the country to the highest culture and spirituality possible.”
The writer in saying good-bye to his noble Majesty, told him that many thousands of Bahá’is from different parts of the world will come to Baghdad to see the historic sites of Bahá’u’lláh’s life there. Whatever the glory of Baghdad has been in the past, it has a greater future awaiting it, for it was in Baghdad that Bahá’u’lláh declared Himself to be the Prophet of God in this universal epoch. His Majesty King Faisal replied so justly, so kindly that the Bahá’is will remember him always as a monarch who is one of the greatest humanitarians in the
--PHOTO--
Haiderkhana, Mosque and View of Baghdad
Middle East. Long live His Majesty King Faisal! Long live the ’Iráq dynasty!
Driving away in the motor car back to the hotel, the departing journalist this morning, wished that she had a book to read the biography of this just and earnest King. There is no book, she only knows that he is a devout but a liberal Muhammadan, and that he was born in Mecca. He is an ardent nationalist and he is aiming at general Arab unity; at the same time he believes all Arab States should put their own houses in order, then unity with ’Iráq, Hedjaz, Palestine and Syria will not be difficult.
King Faisal is an advocate of reform, but a reform which will be the result of education and evolution. He is furthering the cause of education in ’Iráq very much, and he works indefatigably to promote the education of women in his country. Besides his continual occupation
in higher politics in his country, His Majesty devotes some time to practical farming. He has set up a model farm outside of Baghdad where he is carrying out experiments in cotton growing, for cotton is a product which will bring great wealth to ’Iráq just as it did to the Nile Land.
There is something in the character of this King, and in the characters of his relatives which I feel proves them to be great idealists as was Muhammad their ancestor. For the realization of their ideals they were willing to lose their wealth, even their thrones. During the world war in 1916, His Majesty King Faisal’s father, Hussein King of Hedjaz and his four sons, one of whom was King Faisal, arose together to declare the independence of the Arab nations from Turkish suzerainty. Ever since that date they have devoted the whole of their time to the cause of the Arab nation,
sacrificing everything to this end. His Majesty King Faisal lost his throne in Damascus in 1919; in 1925, his father, His Majesty King Hussein, lost his throne in the Hedjaz because he would not accede to demands which he thought were not in the interests of the Arabs, and less than one year later, His Majesty King Ali who had succeeded his father (King Hussein) to the Kingdom of the Hedjaz, also lost
his throne. Willing to lose everything in order to hold to an ideal for their religion and for their race, certainly shows that they are strong men.
This is only the briefest outline of the delightful audience with His Majesty King Faisal and a sketch of his busy and historic life. In a later article I hope to write about his wonderful country, Iráq.
The author, a new contributor to the pages of The Bahá'i Magazine, is of English birth, now an American citizen and a graduate of one of our well known American Universities. During his college life he was greatly interested in the Cosmopolitan Club movement. He is now engaged in experimental work in horticulture.
THEY had been room-mates in college; had shared to the fullest extent their lives with each other. After graduation, industry had claimed Bill, the engineer, while Harry had become absorbed in his agricultural research. Years had flown by; both had married, but the passage of time had not weakened a friendship firm enough to withstand the intermittent correspondence.
Then one happy day Harry received a telegram. Bill, on a business trip, was planning to stay the night. He had come and now they were alone, reclining in comfortable chairs across from each other before a brightly burning fire.
To Bill this visit was proving more than a renewal of the old college days. He was conscious of something beyond that. Was it a
change in Harry? If so, a delightful one! He found himself saying, “I don’t know how I shall ever tear myself away from here tomorrow. . . . Somehow I feel you’ve changed, Harry. I can’t explain it.“
Harry smiled. Not for the worse, I hope.”
“My dear fellow, of course not Bill hastened to assure his friend. In the words that followed Harry caught the phrases: “At supper you showed a tolerant attitude towards those Muhammadans . . . you used to be so rabid on religion . . . Ann and I feel that way now . . . Christianity is decadent . . . we are not satisfied . . .” Bill went on and on. The genuine happiness of the home in which he found himself was prompting him to discover a reason for it.
When he ceased his host replied, admitting a change. Yes, a religious one primarily, but one which affected his whole life. He elucidated a little, and Bill was amazed. Was this Harry speaking?
“Do you mean to tell me that Buddha, Zoroaster, Krishna, Confucius and Muhammad were Messengers from God! Why in college you hardly believed in Christ. I’m afraid I can’t go that far with you.”
Harry smiled as his friend was expostulating, and leaning forward replied, “A few minutes ago you implied a belief in God. Do you think that God has sent only one person to this earth with His message of love?” The conversation continued; Harry met his friend’s expostulations and questions with explanations, the reasonableness of which Bill could not deny even to himself.
SOMETIME LATER it dawned on
Bill that Harry himself was not the
originator of these strange ideas,
and he asked, “What is the real
cause of your change in attitude?
There is something in your ideas
which grips me.”
“Bill, it is a long story. Rose has helped me broaden my whole outlook on life. Perhaps I can answer your question by briefly outlining the essentials of what to me is a very logical approach to my entire belief.” After a moment’s meditation, Harry proceeded.
“Have you ever thought, Bill, how infinitesimal we are; for that matter how very small this earth of ours is? Sir James Jeans, the astronomer, tells us that if we imagine at the very center of the head of this pin, which is 1/16 of an inch
across, a microscopic speck as representing the sun, then the earth would be an ultramicroscopic speck with its orbit of 600,000,000 miles represented by the periphery of the pin’s head. The nearest fixed star, would be 220 yards away, or 4-1/2 light years. Aside from our own galaxy there have been observed several million more great nebulae, the nearest of which is farther away almost than our minds can comprehend. If this is true, man is almost unimaginable. Yet consider this universe, these stars, planets, comets, and other bodies floating around in a space so vast that the mind of man cannot really comprehend it. Human intellect almost fails when we try to think of these things, and yet scientists who have studied the motions of these various bodies floating thru space, can predict, as you know, with exact precision the times that certain phenomena will be apparent in the sky. What does this mean? To me it indicates that there must be some tremendous force, which can keep in order such an array of heavenly bodies.
“Then to turn for a minute to an extreme of this, I am constantly becoming aware through my studies of plant life that there is also very exact order in phenomena which can only be viewed through the microscope. Within plant cells there is a nucleus made up partly of tiny bodies which seem to play an important part in the inheritance of the plant’s characteristics. These minute particles control perhaps the future of great trees. Again, take the atom, the chemist of today tells us it is composed of electrons and protons constantly in motion
like the stars we were just talking about. What are we going to do about these things? To me they necessitate a belief in some Divine power, God, if you will.
“Now to consider another field of thought—God and His relation to us poor mortals. What are we doing here in this world which is but a speck in the universe? With all the evidences of such order, it hardly seems likely that we are here for a joke. It would seem rather inconsistent that we should fritter away our lives in idle pleasure. I believe that God put us here for a purpose, and I will go further and say that that purpose is a spiritual one. It seems reasonable to me to believe on that basis that God has sent to man His Messengers from time to time in order to help him see his purpose in life, and to give him instructions as how best to attain it. These Messengers have come more or less periodically to different people in different places under various conditions. That is my belief. Of course as you probably surmise I refer to the great leaders of these religions, whom we previously mentioned, and there are undoubtedly many more of whom our history has no record.”
“But,” broke in the guest, “Look how the believers of these other religions behave. Take the Muhammadans, at every opportunity they attack Jew and Christian alike with the sword. How can you reconcile such actions with what you have been saying? To me it seems more as though they have been taught to hate and kill those who do not believe in their God, rather than love their fellow man.”
“You must remember,” replied
his friend, “that the older a religion is the more preverted it becomes. This is true even of Christianity. You yourself awhile ago were expressing dissatisfaction with the Church as you find it today. After a Messenger from God has left this earth His believers and those who come afterwards tend to make their own interpretations, and with the passage of the years, dogmas, creeds, and peculiar ceremonies creep into their beliefs. You mention the Muhammadans. Do you realize that the people to whom Muhammad brought His Message consisted of wild, barbaric, warlike tribes? His message was fundamentally the same as Christ’s. All the great Teachers brought us the same essential truths. In the Qur’án Muhammad says, ‘Why have you not believed in Jesus Christ? . . . Why have you not believed in Moses? . . . The first duty incumbent upon you, O Arabians! is to accept and believe in these. You must accept Jesus Christ as the Word of God. You must believe in Jesus Christ as the product of the Holy Spirit.’
“In other words there was no conflict between the true Prophets themselves. This to me seems such a wonderful idea. It seems reasonable too! Scientists tell us this world has been in existence thousands and thousands of years, longer than we know anything about, and promises to continue in existence for many thousands or millions of years more. With that in mind it seems so small to think if there is a God, that He should have favored just one small group at one time only. Even if you grant that Christianity in its purest form may one day
reach all peoples, it leaves out of the picture all the people before Christ’s time. If we keep in mind the Universe as a whole, as well as the infinite nature of God, the whole planet of ours with its inhabitants looks infinitesimal enough, without trying to fit any smaller group into the picture.
“To me, Bill, it seems that God has always been sending His Messengers periodically to us, and all of them by the way have told of One who would come after them. Jesus said, ‘I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.’ Such a statement implies that someone would come after Him, who would expound His Teachings still further.
“Everyone of these great Teachers left behind a growing civilization. I think we must admit that. There have been many famous philosophers whose writings are still read today, but only in the Names of the Manifestations of God, the initial Leaders of the great religions, have people banded together and raised themselves to higher levels. Today, centuries and centuries after some of these religious movements started, they are still in existence and still making converts. In spite of the perversions which have crept into these faiths, the fact remains, and I feel one has to recognize it in order to come to a logical belief.”
“What you say, Harry,” said the engineer looking across in wonderment at his friend, “is very interesting, the more so because it comes from you, who as I recall wouldn’t have anything to do with religion
at all. As you were speaking, I caught from time to time glimpses of the wonderful order you were depicting, but now as I actually call to mind facts as they really are, plain matter of facts, the picture fades. I can never imagine for example the masses of the people, who blindly follow these great religions in their present form, ever uniting under the leadership of any one of them, and yet to carry your arguments to a logical conclusion, this should one day happen.” Laughingly he added, “It appears to me that God had better send another Messenger who would appeal to all; be about time, too, according to what you’ve been telling me.”
“Bill, there is more truth in that, than you realize. I believe just that, and further I believe He has come. During the last century a Great Teacher appeared in Persia. It is a long story, the details of His coming, His teachings, and the events which have happened since. But in brief, the keynote of His message was Unity. He taught the Oneness of Humanity, and the Oneness of Religion. His teachings cover every phase of human life, nothing is omitted. To believers of different faiths who came to Him, He explained their problems in terms of their own religion. In this way and many others He displayed infinite knowledge, yet His formal education had been negligible. He declared true science and true religion to be in accord.
“His whole message to me seems in harmony with the spirit of this age. Today we have peace movements, a League of Nations, a World Court, and many other things all tending to remove differences.
Material progress, as shown in the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, the intercommunication by railroad, steamship, aeroplane, and airship, is tending to make the world smaller, and to make it one. Bahá’u’lláh, the Teacher to Whom I refer, spoke explicitly of all these things when the world at large hardly dreamed of them. And His whole message is atune to the new conditions and problems of this Day, so different in outward form from the Day of Jesus, or the Day of any great Prophet. You undoubtedly think me over enthusiastic, Bill, but the more I think about these things, the more reasonable I feel these events are. Strange to say every time I have had any doubts about some matter in this world of ours, Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings instead of aggravating them have always without exception given me an explanation more satisfying than I could find anywhere else. I find it easier to fit everything into the scheme of things. The dissension in the Christian Church, the denominations, and sects and so on, altho not pleasant to realize, indicate a spiritual decadence. In this New Message I see a spiritual awakening. Do not misunderstand me, today I have a greater appreciation of Christ Himself than I had when I thought of Him as the one and only Savior of mankind. I see Jesus in relation to all the rest, and I am thrilled with the thought that God in His infinite bounty has and will continue to send His Messengers to us.
“YOU ARE INTERESTED in Peace Let me read a few words from talk given by ’Abdu’l-Bahá in New York in 1912. ’Abdu’l-Bahá was the Son of Bahá’u’lláh.
“‘Today the world of humanity is in need of international unity and conciliation. To establish these great fundamental principles a propelling power is needed. It is self-evident that unity of the human world and the “Most Great Peace” cannot be accomplished through material means. They cannot be established through political power, for the political interests of nations are various and the policies of peoples are divergent and conflicting. They cannot be founded through racial or patriotic power, for these are human powers, selfish and weak. The very nature of racial differences and patriotic prejudices prevents the realization of this unity and agreement. Therefore it is evidenced that the promotion of the oneness of the kingdom of humanity which is the essence of the teachings of all the Manifestations of God is impossible except through divine power and breaths of the Holy Spirit.’”
After a brief silence Bill said, “This is all very new to me, but coming from you and in such a way and with the arguments you have presented, I feel perhaps there is something to it. Have you any book about it, that I could take with me tomorrow? You know, I’ll want to tell Ann something about this, and I want to get it straight. Maybe I’ll be able to drop in on my way back next week. I hope so.”
IN this great century the most important accomplishment is the unity of mankind. Although in former centuries and times this subject received some measure of mention and consideration, it has now become the paramount issue and question in the religious and political conditions of the world. History shows that throughout the past there has been continual warfare and strife among the various nations, peoples and sects, but now, praise be to God! in this century of illumination, hearts are inclined toward agreement and fellowship, and minds are thoughtful upon the question of the unification of mankind. There is an emanation of the universal consciousness today which clearly indicates the dawn of a great unity.
If the world should remain as it is today, 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.
The history of the Bahá’i Movement, like the history of early Christianity is replete with stories of the lives of saints and martyrs, those who, giving all to God, find it no tragedy to die for Him. Youth aflame with the spirit of sacrifice is here portrayed by the author who made record of this and other stories on his recent visit to Haifa, Palestine.
IN far off Persia, in the city of Hamadan, dwells a widow with her sons and family. Her hair is now gray, her heart is serene and joyous, her soul is content, her name is honored, and she is greatly respected and esteemed. For is she not the mother of the one Jewish martyr—the one martyr from his race and faith! He gave his life and joined the vast throng of those, formerly of the Muhammadan faith, who had given their homes, their children, their parents, and their own lives, in joyous sacrifice, in order that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh—the Cause of God Most Glorious—might grow in the hearts of men and be enthroned amongst all mankind.
It is but fifteen years ago when the illumined youth, named Mirza Jacob Mouttahideh, became so filled with divine love, so aflame with passionate longing, so intoxicated with the wine of celestial ecstasy, that no sacrifice of earth was sufficient for him to make in the path of his loving Lord, and that only by giving of earthly life, earthly love and ambitions could his heart love, alone, be assuaged.
Repeatedly he wrote to the Master of ’Akká, Whom we know as ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “may my life be a sacrifice for my people, none of my race and faith have died for this Great Cause.” At last one day a letter from the Master came to
him,—“My loving son. Your request is granted. Much good will come from your sacrifice. . . .”
Radiant with happiness he hastened home, his face beaming with heavenly joy. He was met by his fond mother. “How happy you are,” she exclaimed; and see, there is more happiness awaiting you. I have a lovely bride for you and you should be married soon.” “Nay, mother mine,” Jacob replied, “this cannot be, for I am promised by ’Abdu’l-Bahá another bride, and her name is death. I have indeed offered my soul and life to Bahá’u’lláh and my offer is accepted. See here is the Tablet! How happy I am. Promise me, mother dear, you will not grieve or mourn, but rather rejoice and make a feast, give away my possessions in my name, when I die. For I shall have attained my heart’s desire and ascended to the Supreme Concourse and eternal life, and I shall be ever with my Lord.”
His mother sobbed, tears of grief and despair ran streaming down her cheeks, but soon peace, eternal peace that passeth understanding, came into her heart, perchance it was even a wave of unspeakable bliss from the Seat of Mercy from the Throne of Ineffable Love, for she promised to obey this request of her best loved son.
Two years soon passed away. Filled with divine fervor and
ecstatic joy this young man had left his home town and had moved his business to Kirmánsháh, a city nearby, where he labored fearlessly for the beloved Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, both by day and by night, “in season and out of season,” so that soon he became noted among Bahá’i teachers and believers for his intense activity and sincere faith.
One day the Governor of the city told him that a plot was on foot to murder him and requested that he leave the town, which he did. But he soon returned to continue his work and service.
On the second day after his return, while walking with his brother in one of the narrow streets of Kirmánsháh, he was seen by his assassins who were drinking in a coffee house nearby. Walking behind the two brothers at a dark place, the murderer crept up behind Jacob and with a revolver shot him through the back of the head. He died immediately, while his brother ran shrieking toward his home, “My brother is killed! My brother is dead!”
Soon the police arrived on the spot, the body was taken to the station, and his friends notified to take the body away. A Bahá’i teacher by the name of Mirza Youseff Khan went to the police station and identified the body. It is related how with tears streaming down his cheeks, he kissed the gaping wound in the martyred boy’s forehead, then had the body carried to the bereaved home, and the body was buried in the garden of this house.
The sad news soon reached Hamadan and the loving mother. One is powerless to relate, or even
know, whether supreme grief or supreme joy swept through her heart. No words can express, and no heart can understand; but this we do know, that soon a great feast was prepared and given by her in memory of her martyred son. All were invited, and to each one presents were given until there were no more—mementos of her son, his earthly possessions. No tear was seen coursing down her cheeks, but with the calm look of perfect faith, a heavenly smile of blessed joy, she greeted each one as they came: had not her boy, her beloved son, attained his heart’s desire—the ineffable station of martyrdom!
Needless to say this feast, the feast of death, nay, the feast of life, held in this provincial town, made endless comment and tremendous publicity. The promise of ’Abdu’l-Bahá was recalled; namely, that much good would result from his sacrifice. Yes, this promise was fully redeemed and made manifest, for today Hamadan and Kirmánsháh are aglow, full of life—the life of radiant believers in the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh that this boy had died for!
The gray-haired mother still dwells in Hamadan, sweet, noble and serene, but her heart is in the celestial world with the one she loved best and gave up so joyously, who, united with his beloved Lord, showers down his love to those who looking to the “author of their salvation,” seek to give, to sacrifice and to serve, in order that in some joyous day the Love of the Most High may radiate from the heart of all mankind when “all men shall be as brothers, leaves of one tree and drops of one sea.”
“In this day he who seeks the Light of the Sun of Truth must free his mind from the tales of the past, must adorn his head with the crown of severance and his temple with the robe of virtue. Then shall he arrive at the ocean of Oneness and enter the presence of Singleness. The heart must become free from the fire of superstitions that it may receive the Light of Assurance and that it may perceive the Glory of God.”
WHEN the statement is made Bahá’u’lláh has come as the great Universal Prophet to educate man in the final steps of unity and peace, the first reaction on the part of Christians is: if there is no variance between the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and those of Jesus, what do we need with Bahá’u’lláh?
When Jesus was asked by the Jews to state His teaching,* He quoted the law of Moses, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart** and thy neighbor as thyself.”*** Their answer in effect was: “If you haven’t anything to teach us that Moses hasn’t already taught us, what do we need with you?” “We have Moses and the prophets,” corresponded exactly in the dispensation of Jesus, to, “We have Jesus,” in the era of Bahá’u’lláh. And to press the analogy quoted in a previous article from ’Abdu’l-Bahá, it is as if a tree planted last spring attempted to dispense with the light and heat of this years’ sun, because the sun that caused it to germinate was the only true sun and all other suns were false suns.
To ask what we need with Bahá’u’lláh and why Jesus isn’t sufficient is, when analyzed, like asking why God made this kind of world instead of some other kind of world.
* Mark 12:28-34
** Deut. 6:4
*** Levit. 19:18
I’m sure I haven’t the vaguest idea why God made this kind of world instead of another kind. Undoubtedly He could have made any kind He wanted to; a world subject to fiat and unprecedented interjection; a world in which one might plant a seed and produce a thirty foot tree instantaneously. But the fact remains that this isn’t that kind of world; the only world we know is a world that progresses by growth and process, a world of periodicity, of cyclical movement.
God planted the seed of the tree of life, humanity, and the first shining Sun of Manifestation arose upon it; the little tree grew to as great a stature as possible before the winter of dogma and formalism checked its growth. If the Sun of the succeeding Manifestation had not in God’s Bounty, returned to shine upon that little tree again, it would still remain ice-bound; for as nothing can restore life to the world but the physical sun, so nothing can restore life to the soul but the re-appearance among men of the Spiritual Sun, the Manifestation of God.
THE ANSWER to the second question, is Bahá’u’lláh greater than Jesus? is involved in the anwser to the first. To the Bahá’i the question is like asking if this year’s sun is greater than last year’s sun, or if
mathematics is greater than physics, or if harmony is greater than order. To us it is a discussion of identities.
The most difficult thing for the average mind to grasp is the idea of unity. Our magnificent teaching of the Divine Unity means that this great outpouring of the Spirit of God upon all flesh is exactly the same outpouring, just as the outpouring of the sun is always the same outpouring though last year was 1929, this is 1930 and next year will be 1931. So once that rapturous outpouring was Melchizedek, another time Zarathustra, again Jesus or Gautama the Buddha, or Abraham or Muhammad; giving not in accordance with Their capacity, but in accordance with the needs, the requirements and the social status of those whom they came to educate and to uplift.
To us Bahá’u’lláh is the identity of all the Prophets who have preceded Him, differing in function not in Reality; save that this is the first time that God has manifested Himself to all humanity. The Tree of Life is at last ready to bear the fruit of unity. “He openeth His Hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing; He closeth it they are troubled.”
CHRISTIANITY has broken up into
about three hundred and fifty-two
accredited sects in spite of all efforts
at unification. Is it conceivable
that this process can be reversed
and the branches of the
Christian church be brought back
into a unity? Now if this is not
possible or probable, how can
Christianity be expected to unify
the world?
We cannot rationally expect that Jesus would unite the world because His was another function; His message was given at a time when world unity was impossible; in His dispensation were fulfilled those ideals and principles With which His mission was charged; but He denies His station as that of the Prince of Peace when He says: “I came not to bring peace but a sword.” Not only by the trend in Christendom, but by the very words of his Lord the Christian is constrained to admit that another than Jesus is necessary to establish universal brotherhood.
THERE IS NO DOGMA in Christian
theology that is original or unique,
including our teachings concerning
the birth and the resurrection of
Jesus.
With regard to the literal fulfillment of prophecy in the Return of the Manifestation, we are drawn back once again to the days of Jesus. The Messiah was to sit upon the throne of David, rule with a rod of iron, cause the lion and the lamb to lie down together, restore the glories of Israel. At once the Jews said, “This man cannot be the Promised One; he has no temporal power or splendor; he fulfills none of our prophecies.” But if the prophecies are taken figuratively or symbolically Jesus fulfilled them all. For fifteen hundred years the kings and potentates of the earth have bowed before Him, and through Him the religion of Israel has become known to all the world.
So with His prophecies of this Day. In the first place He never said, “I, Jesus, a human personality, am coming back to this world.”
He said the Son of Man would appear. Professor Nathaniel Schmidt,* shows that the phrase “Son of Man” in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, means “I” or “he,” or a man. Therefore we are to expect a man, not a supernatural being.
That the physical form of Jesus should one day drop out of the clouds involves several important questions. Where has He been in the mean time? Is heaven a locality? Is it a fixed habitation or revolving? If fixed, half the time it would be above us and the other half, below. Heaven is the highest concept that the human mind can formulate; but where are love, justice and truth? Is there a path leading to peace and beauty? If these concepts are above time and space, which we all admit them to be, how can heaven, the noblest concept of all, be demoted to the limitations of the three-dimensional? Also if we still insist on a literal interpretation of the Bible, how can we reconcile the expectation of the physical Jesus with Paul’s words, “Know this, my brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, neither can corruption put on incorruption?” If that be true He could not keep His Physical Body in the Realms of Glory.
Clouds as we know are wisps of vapor; they couldn’t even support a bird much less a man; in the Book of Assurance Bahá’u’lláh explains that the clouds conceal the sun, they are those accidental portions of the life of the Manifestation that hide His Reality.
How much less then could a human figure be literally seen by
* “The Man of Nazareth.”
all flesh together, dropping—from where?—through the clouds.
If we Christians insist that these prophecies be taken literally we have no justification in blaming the Jews for rejecting Jesus on the basis that He did not fulfil the prophecies literally. Every eye beheld Him—in that Day; every quickened spiritual eye, about a score of them, to be exact. Then as now He comes like a thief in the night, the whole point to that figure being that we do not find the evidence of the thief’s visit until he has gone.
All flesh has seen Bahá’u’lláh together. “There is no speech nor language where His Voice is not heard; His line has gone out through the earth and His words to the end of the world.” On every continent and among the islands of the sea, from coast and crag, from Manchuria to Cape Town, from Bombay to Barbados His Name is known and His teachings are reverenced; and though His followers may now be comparatively few in number, we recall the vivid parables of Jesus about the fecundating power of the kingdom: the mustard seed that becomes a great tree; the small pinch of yeast that raises a whole measure of flour, the treasure hidden in a field for which a man willingly exchanges all that he has.
There are only a few million Bahá’is scattered upon this teeming earth, but so contagious is their belief in brotherhood and goodwill, so joyous their message of peace and justice, so satisfying their faith and the power of their Covenant that day by day the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is moving irresistibly forward to “unity and knowledge—the essential purpose of man’s creation.”
- LO, once again God took unchaliced beauty
- And winnowed it with winds of mighty gale,
- Then poured upon it crimson drops of sorrow
- And placed it in His own most precious Grrail.
- “My Covenant! In rarest visitation—
- “Supernal Beauty manifest again!”
- He raised the Goblet filled to overflowing
- And bade an angel bear it down to men . . .
* * *
- Awake, O world! The Living Cup is pouring!
- New bounties flow from out the ample Sun
- As though the Comings of a hundred Springtimes
- Had pressed their verdant splendors into one.
- And beauty streams on every wind that blows;
- The desert places blossom as the rose!
“The Sun of Truth bestows eternal life just as the solar sun is the cause of terrestrial life.”—’Abdu’l-Bahá.
THE Christ Spirit always has been and always will be—time without end. It is that penetrative effulgence of Perfection that always surrounds man. It emanates from the Creative Sun in rays of love and kindness, truth and growth, justice and mercy, hope and faith, beauty and peace, harmony and balance, health and joy, knowledge and wisdom.
Like our phenomenal sun, the Divine Sun shines constantly-whether the windows and doors of human consciousness are open or closed.
If the soul of man has found its way out of the shadow and darkness of gross materiality, it is warmed and energized by these life-giving rays; but if the animal-man predominates, and the spiritual-man still lies dormant in slumber—the blessings of that Creative Essence cannot be appreciated by such an unawakened soul.
The blind man can see no light; and the deaf man can hear no harmonious melody. The material man undergoes no change from this continuous flow of spiritual warmth except to become more crisp and dry—like the grass on a deserted prairie. Something is needed to set fire to these useless blades. If fresh verdant grass is to take the place of the dead, colorless wisps, a prairie-fire is needed to burn out and clean up the old–in order to make room for the new.
A Perfect Mirror is necessary that can receive and reflect with concentrated intensity the spiritual heat of God—so that a spark may be ignited in the consciousness of men that will set ablaze the prairie of dead human thoughtlessness and clear the ground for a new growth of spiritual understanding. The fire of the love of God can burn away the dead grass of ignorance and make room for the new growth of knowledge.
“ALL THE PROPHETS were channels for the Bounty of God, for They were the first teachers of mankind.” A perfected Human Mirror lives upon the earth and conveys to all mankind the Eternal Radiance. This burning reflection of Creative Power kindles a spark of spiritual life in the minds of men. The dead grass of materiality makes good fuel for the Flame of Life. Into the human consciousness is inculcated a new and developed vision of living. All creation receives an impetus.
Another Spring-Cycle of progress dawns upon the souls of men. Another Divine Teacher comes to lead us on to the next degree of study in our school of experience. Through His God-given knowledge, through His complete understanding and grasp of all things, of course far beyond the minds of His day, this Being reveals with Supreme Potency the
coming influx of human ideals. He becomes the Savior of the world awakening mankind to a consciousness of its eternal self.
A STUDY of world history will
reveal an Ideal Teacher as the
center of each succeeding civilization.
The Messengers of God have
always come and always will come
to lead man on to better things.
In the age of Moses the children of Israel were so undeveloped that they could not comprehend the law of love. They had to be taught by fear. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was the rule required to herd the wayward tribes of Israel into line and keep them moving forward toward spiritual advancement.
Later Jesus, the Nazarene, appeared in Palestine and spent His life teaching men the law of love and service through sacrifice. Jesus gave His physical life so that man might awaken to a life beyond the grave. He taught us to pray for Heaven to come upon earth. His message was wholly spiritual.
In the day of Muhammad, the lawless tribes of the Arabian peninsula were so backward in spiritual development that a Special Tutor was needed to help them catch up with the general advance in civilization. The life and teachings of Muhammad brought great changes of advantage to the Islamic part of the world. Muhammad proclaimed constantly the existence of the One God.
Before these three, Zoroaster, Bramah, Buddha and other Spiritual Instructors had sent their Reflected Light of Wisdom into the expanding realm of human hearts.
In the cycle of today man can profit by the all-inclusive Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, Who like Jesus, gave up all earthly possessions and lived a life of complete severance to the Ideals of universal unfoldment.
THESE MEDIATORS between God and man do not seek “to be ministered unto.” Their Being is in a natural state of perfection that finds its highest expression in sacrifice of self and service to mankind. Jesus said, “I come not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” Being free from earthly attachments, the Manifestations find their real joy when mankind recognizes the value of the Message of Love They sacrificed earthly life to give. They work only for the universal good.
Bahá’u’lláh, the Messenger of today, explains the continuity of prophetic revelation, the fundamental unity and interdependence of all parts of creation. He offers a solution for the economic and educational problems that face mankind. He proclaims the oneness of humanity and the fundamental oneness of all religions. He explains the harmony that exists between science and religion. He outlines definite plans for the establishment of a permanent peace on earth. He infuses the idea of brotherly love on the basis of One Father—God.
THE WORLD is fairly alive with new ideas and thoughts. “What is the cause,” asks Dr. J. E. Esslemont,* “of this awakening throughout the world? Bahá’is believe that it is due to a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the Prophet, Bahá’u’lláh.
* Baha’u’llah and the New Era.
* * * The advent of the Manifestation is like the coming of the Spring. It is a day of Resurrection in which the spiritually dead are raised to new life, in which the Reality of the Divine Religions is renewed and reestablished, in which appear ‘new heavens and a new earth.’”
Were it not for these Glorious Beings who transmit the life-giving rays of the Spiritual Sun of Truth to mankind, the human race would be deprived of a spiritual civilization; its innate soul qualities would remain dormant; it would continue to be a captive of the material world—like an untrained child, ill-mannered, thoughtless, ignorant of the high rank of its own reality.
“The aim of the Prophet of God” said ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “is to raise man to the degree of knowledge of his potentiality, and to illuminate him through the light of the kingdom, to transform ignorance into wisdom, error into knowledge, and incapability into progress. In short, to make all the attainments of existence resplendent in man.”
Bahá’u’lláh, the Mouth-Piece of God for this age, has ushered in
another Heavenly-Springtime and “just as all seasons of spring are essentially one as to newness of life, vernal showers and beauty, so the essence of the mission and accomplishment of all the Prophets is one and the same. Now the people of religion have lost sight of the essential reality of the spiritual springtime.“ And ’Abdu’l-Bahá continues in these life-giving words:
“Bahá’u’lláh has breathed the Holy Spirit into the dead body of the world, consequently every weak soul is strengthened by these fresh Divine out-breathings. Every poor man will become rich, every darkened soul will become illumined, every ignorant one will become wise, because the confirmations of the Holy Spirit are descending like torrents. A new era of Divine consciousness is upon us. The world of humanity is going through a process of transformation. A new race is being developed. The thoughts of human brotherhood are permeating all regions. New ideals are stirring the depths of hearts, and a new spirit of universal consciousness is being profoundly felt by all men.”
“The great question appertaining to humanity is religion. The first condition is that man must intelligently investigate its foundations. The second condition is that he must admit and acknowledge the oneness of the world of humanity. By this means the attainment of true fellowship among mankind is assured and the alienation of races and individuals is prevented. All must be considered the servants of God; all must recognize God as the one kind protector and creator. In proportion to the acknowledgment of the oneness and solidarity of mankind, fellowship is possible, misunderstandings will be removed and reality become apparent. Then will the light of reality shine forth, and when reality illumines the world, the happiness of humankind will become a verity.”
The following is a reprint from one of the many references to the Bahá’i teachings and publications which have appeared in the John O’Groat Journal, published in Wick, Caithness Scotland. The distinguished Editor of this paper—which has a wide circulation not only in Scotland but elsewhere—is broadminded, greatly respected all over Scotland, and a worker for peace.
WE have received the above* and several minor publications issued in the interests of the Bahá’i Movement. Doubtless we have been so favored because, practically alone among Scottish newspapers, we have given our readers some information concerning Bahá’ism and its ideals. The first-named book is a beautifully printed volume, with many fine illustrations, containing a record of Bahá’i activities, excerpts from writings, a directory and bibliography, and many articles and particulars concerning the Bahá’i faith, principles and administration. Anyone possessing and perusing this volume, together with the Magazine and minor prints, will realize that the Movement is one of widespread influence and importance and that it is evidently one likely to have far-reaching consequences on future international life and thought.
Briefly stated, the Bahá’i Movement is out for the unifying of nations, religions and tongues, for the Brotherhood of Mankind, for world peace and worldwide education. It is non-political in character, has no priestly order, is not a sacerdotal organization or a sect
*
THE BAHA’I WORLD, 1926-28. A Biennial International Record. New York City: The Bahá’í Publishing Committee. 300 pages.
THE BAHA’I MAGAZINE, December, 1929.
apart from all other sects, and it repudiates all superstition. In religion it emphasizes the essence of all knowledge—that “God is Love”; it claims to be the “Great Call to all the races of mankind to make the supreme effort that will transform the world into a home of good will and peace”; and it teaches that mankind, by the Spirit of God, has the power to do this. In short, its purpose is to unify the spirit of all religions and to promote world-wide justice, fellowship and tolerance.
The principles of the Movement were first enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, a Persian; and it is probably because of this origin, and the idea that its founder was claimed as a new Messiah, that it has not hitherto received serious attention throughout Christendom. It is now being shown and emphasized by its advocates that the call of Bahá’u’lláh is a call to translate the spirit and teaching of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount into actuality throughout the world; that it is supplementary to, and not in any way a substitute for, Christianity. The Bahá’is say: “It is not sufficient for a Christian to be satisfied in his or her own heart about Christ, nor a Mohammedan about Mohammed, nor a Jew about Moses, nor a Zoroastrian about Zoroaster, nor a Hindu about
Krishna, nor a Buddhist about the teachings of his or her prophet or seer. But, as spiritual love is the essence of them all, world-fellowship is the natural consummation of them all.
Put in another way, the Bahá’i revelation is claimed to be the perfect fulfilment of Christ’s words when He said: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come . . . whom I will send unto you from the Father . . . he will guide you unto all truth.”
There can be no denying the noble ideals of the Movement, and many are beginning to realize that it is essentially one with Christianity and with the spirit of truth which is at the foundation of all religions. Nowadays when the question of world peace is a live issue, so earnestly hoped and prayed for by good men and women all over the world, its teachings can scarcely fail to have a powerful influence in the direction so greatly to be desired. It is for that reason that we have in these columns given brief notices of its publications, with copies of which we have been favored by Mr. E. T. Hall, 1 Norton Street, Higher Broughton, Manchester. Mr. Hall is himself a whole-hearted exponent of Bahá’i principles, and would, we are sure, gladly supply further information,
and writings of his own, to any reader who may desire to have fuller knowledge of a movement that is pretty sure to have tremendous influence on world thought in days to come.
GENEVA (A.P.)—Holland has informed the League of Nations that it has constituted a committee for the reform of the calendar to work with similar bodies in the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Hungary, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Salvador. —Washington, D. C., Star.
THE MOST cosmopolitan unit in the Army of the United States is the National Guard of Hawaii, according to the records of the War Department. Fifty different nationalities or combinations of nationalities have been reported in this organization.
Native Hawaiians naturally form the largest single group in the rolls of the National Guard with a total of 431 out of 1,639. There are 191 Japanese, 185 Filipino, 170 Chinese, 157 Porto Ricans and 148 Portuguese in the organization. There are only 121 native Americans enrolled.
Koreans, Spaniards, Germans, Scotchmen, Samoans, Englishmen, Irishmen, Poles, Russians, Danes, Canadians and Belgians are also found in this organization.—Sunday Star, Washington, D. C.
